The Real Problem Behind The Remote/RTO Divide
A Lack of Interest In the Other Side Is A Big Part
People are still mostly bad at listening to each other and building empathy online.
Particularly with those they disagree with.
I think it’s a combination of things:
+Lack of proximity
+Lack of online “listening skills”
+Lack of desire to connect
And that leads to the main problem driving the remote/return office divide:
We’re genuinely failing to engage with each other empathetically
Benefits Aren’t Getting Us Anywhere
Let’s get a few things out of the way, shall we?
Remote work is:
+Better for the environment
+More productive
+Can help employees save a good amount of money
+In its purest form gives employment opportunities to people no matter where they live
+Can help revitalize rural areas
I am sure I missed a few things, feel free to chime in. These are all commonly-held beliefs among remote work advocates. Many of them have also been validated by research.
In 2022, do we really need to repeat these over and over again? It gets us nowhere, at least with powerful company leaders (Tim Cook, Jamie Dimon, and Elon Musk, to name a few).
And that’s because all we are doing is talking about how remote work benefits US.
At this point, I hear a few voices saying things like:
“We do talk about benefits for companies, like getting the best talent globally, or saving money on office space”
“You said more productivity… That’s a benefit for companies!”
If you are writing or speaking about that, that’s awesome. But I don’t think that’s working either.
Have you stopped to think about what return to office advocates have lost,
Or still have to lose if we never go back?
Turn On Your Built-In Psychology Degree
Tell me, what feels better:
Not Losing 100 dollars
Receiving 500 dollars
Your rational mind might think receiving, but research shows people feel much more relief from the loss prevention.
That’s loss aversion in action.
This is critical in the remote work conversation because the return to office crowd has lost A LOT over the past 2 years and stands to lose much more as remote work persists.
Why else do you think they would want us back in the office?
Loss Prevention Isn’t Sexy
Let’s get real:
Your post about how great remote work is, its benefits, or your personal positive experiences with remote work?
They’re a dime a dozen.
And if they’re still getting attention it’s probably from people who want to
Grow their LinkedIn
Engage with you because they like engaging
Get into a fight because they need to deal with some negative emotion
Yet you keep posting content around this… Why?
Two reasons I can think of: attracting the right kind of attention for your business and career and feeling good expressing a popular opinion you know will be validated.
An unpopular opinion, one where you openly talk about the losses caused to businesses and individuals that want to Return to Office… that’s a lot riskier.
But that’s exactly the kind of content that will help you build credibility with the return to office crowd and get them to listen.
Every day we don’t use our content to show we understand the loss and acknowledge the office is their way of mitigating it
is a day we fail to have a meaningful conversation and make the work from anywhere agenda feel human and inclusive.
Ponder that next time you get ready to write online about remote work.
Tomorrow, I’ll write about one kind of loss many return to office advocates seem to be feeling.
Subscribe below so you don’t miss out!