Almost every day, I encounter content demonizing the office.
Post after post on the digital water cooler that is LinkedIn talk about how much better remote work is, and how much of a dinosaur office work is.
The reason, I think, is fairly obvious: many of us, myself included, love remote work. We also want to capitalize on its growing market cap, both financially and for our own status (I’m guilty on #2 especially).
This results in several interesting thought patterns expressed on social media, all of which give the office quite a bad rap.
A few examples I see on LinkedIn include :
Saying the office limiting to creativity and innovation
Noting that high performers will leave companies that don’t give flexibility
Claiming the office is not a place to work, it’s really just a place to socialize and be interrupted
But the office has been a non-stop source of innovation for 100 years
The MAANG companies, General Electric, IBM, Samsung… All these innovative companies were in the office for MOST of their existence.
And I don’t think that’s because it was the only option, or because these companies all want to lead through command and control management.
I think it’s because of the “feeling” of the office, especially in the early days of a company’s life, but for many, well into its lifetime.
And no, I’m not talking about the feeling of “I have to be here.”
or
“I’m being watched here all the time.”
What I’m talking about is the feeling of “We’re doing something important here.”
Having spoken with a few folks who are glad to be back in the office, I’d say that’s the number 1 most important thing they like about being back in the office.
And those of us driving the remote work conversation are alienating them exactly because we aren’t acknowledging this or what it means to them.
It’s Time To Stop Talking About How Bad The Office Is, And Start Talking About How To Make Work Better
If we want more people (and companies) to embrace remote work, we need to stop promoting it and demonizing the office. Instead, we should be talking about how, as we navigate the remote work space, we identify ways of working better (that could also work in the office).
I expect that if we take this approach, those who love the office will let their guard down. They’ll be more willing to learn about remote work, and more willing to consider trying it. This goes for both employees and employers.
We’ve Reached Peak Remote Work Promotion
And the demonization of the office shows we are running out of ideas on how to persuade people remote work is the way.
Even content that is not anti-office is getting repetitive. Ask yourself: how many times have you read the same list of benefits of remote work, the same tips on how to manage remote work, and the same news about how company A found the same benefits from remote work as company B?
I know it’s a popular mantra that repetition is the best way to get an idea across, but I think it might be time to take a new approach: fostering empathy for those who don’t agree with the remote work agenda.
Choosing this path can lead to more dialog, more engagement, and eventually, more adoption of remote and hybrid work practices, because we’ll have moved resistors from a place of playing defense to a place of collaboration and curiosity. And that’s what we want them to feel about remote work, right?
Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing a story about that feeling I mentioned.