Remote work
The return-to-work wars demonstrates a disconnect between some employers and employees, as many workers say they prefer working from home.
Jasmin Merdan/ Images

Nancy Hauge, the chief people experience officer at Automation Anywhere, wouldn’t have predicted that the coronaviruses outbreak would force a change to the HR operating model in her organization.

70% of workers with jobs that could be done remotely were working from home all or most of the time by October 2020. She was one of the HR leaders who helped facilitate the remote-work revolution within her organization.

2020 is the most complex period of her career, but she reached a conclusion by the end of the year. She said that the most surprising thing about the epidemic was the creation of more intimacy. In many ways, we are more connected than before.

Remote-work wars

More than two years have passed since the outbreak of the Pandemic. According to a new Microsoft report, about half of the leaders it surveyed are looking to end remote work in the next year.

Many companies require their employees to return to work after taking a break. Musk told employees to return to the office or “pretend to work somewhere else” in a staff memo that made headlines. Some employers are offering permanent remote or hybrid-work options.

Most teleworkers prefer working from home and the return-to-work wars show this. A survey of more than 3,000 employees conducted by Blind, an anonymous employee community app, found that many employers, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, would rather work from home than get a $30,000 raise.

Insider spoke with 10 industry leaders who said they are embracing remote and hybrid work.

The responses have been edited to make them clearer.

Sarah Dunn, Global Human Resources Officer of Tapestry Inc.
“Most of our teams come into the office one or two days a week, and we’re trying to make those days count,” Dunn said.
Tapestry Inc

A multinational luxury- fashion holding company is Tapestry, Inc. The parent company of Coach New York, Kate Spade New York, and Stuart Weitzman were originally named Coach, Inc.

We’re in a hybrid environment now. We try to make those days count because most of our teams come into the office one or two days a week. They can catch up on work on other days if they have a creative, vibrant community in the office.

There is still a lot to know. We say we’re in the largest test-and-Learn environment from a future-of-work point of view, and we’re just listening to our teams very closely. We’re doing surveys to understand what they’re enjoying, not enjoying, and how we need to adapt.

Elizabeth Crain, Chief Operating Officer at Moelis & Company
“We’ve introduced more flexibility and are continually thinking about how we can optimize our office environment to promote collaboration and creativity,” Crain said.
Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company has 21 offices in 21 different countries. Since it was founded in 2007, the firm has advised on more than $3.5 trillion worth of transactions, with deal sizes ranging from $100 million to $160 billion.

We need to adapt to the changing needs of our team in order to continue to attract talent. They’re passionate about performing at the highest level, but they’re also looking for more flexibility, which we can give.

We have introduced more flexibility and are thinking about how we can maximize our office environment to promote collaboration and creativity. The collaboration, teaching, and mentoring that are so important to the Moelis culture and key to client success have not changed.

Laura Miele, Chief Operating Officer at Electronic Arts
“Remote work has opened up opportunities for us to bring in the very best talent no matter where they live,” Miele said.
Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts provides games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets.

It used to be that anyone who wanted a career in the game industry had to live near a studio, but remote work has opened up opportunities for us to bring in the best talent no matter where they live.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve brought some incredible talent to the company. The key reasons for joining the company are our strong values, principles, and flexibility in how we work.

An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Don’t stop reading.

More: Features Remote Work hybrid work Return to Work It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.