The Remote Work Trend Is Reversing: Here’s Why

The Local Talent Index reveals a global remote working market for in-demand professions such as marketing and developers.

The pandemic has contributed to the development of remote working opportunities all around the world.

For millions of employees and employers, the remote working arrangement has been a game-changer during the covid-19 crisis, allowing:

• Businesses to remain operational
• Employees to work safely
• Normalizing kids in video calls for better work/life balance for parents

Unfortunately, according to research from Microsoft, around 50% of leaders explain that their company is already planning to bring employees back to the office. Why are companies retracing back their steps to a pre-pandemic work environment? As it turns out, there are more than one reasons why businesses feel remote work is failing.

They don’t recruit people who fit the team

Remote recruiting practices encourage companies to seek talent with no regard for location. Additionally, candidates find it more convenient to apply to different roles and attend digital interviews. However, many recruiters struggle to get a feel for personalities and temperaments via video calls. Indeed, broadband speed, tech mishaps, and the overall settings can make it tough to have a natural conversation and gauge someone’s mindset. But, it can be helpful to bring tools that help understand how people work and communicate in a team, such as Firo-B Test or psychometric assessments.

Managers still try to control

Nobody likes to feel monitored when they are working. Remote work makes it tricky for managers to monitor employees effectively, as digital attendance tools fail to provide the full picture. Therefore, bringing people back to the office can help gain a better overview. It is understandable that managers turn to micro-management techniques in a time of high uncertainty. Nevertheless, employee monitoring strategies are often considered counterproductive, as they can damage trust between managers and employees and even among the team itself. In fact, while they are often driven by uncertainty, controlling strategies tend to create more uncertainty by driving people out.

Businesses fail at building a digital culture

Admittedly, building a thriving business culture online is no easy matter. A lot of companies have struggled to recreate their cultures in the virtual work environment. Unfortunately, they fail to consider a crucial factor when calling their employees back to the office. Disgruntled employees are unlikely to revive the business culture when they feel forced to change their routines.

They try to reduce costs

Finally, one of the worst mistakes that companies make is to attempt to reopen the office to reduce costs. Indeed, even though the virtual office can offer significant cost savings, the long-lasting pandemic challenges combined with the increased living costs can make it tough to meet financial duties. The temptation to bring everyone back to the way things used to be is great. However, companies fail to consider that reopening the physical office will not summon the prospective growth of pre-pandemic times. In fact, physical offices are more likely to drive costs further, involving maintenance, energy, and decreased productivity.

Employees are not ready to head back to the office. Unfortunately, too many companies face increasing challenges in maintaining remote work options. While there is no saying what the future may bring, we can expect hybrid workplaces are likely to become mainstream until we can finally make virtual workplaces work for everyone.