Listen to this episode on the Pgh Dreamer’s Pod.

I have been working from home since long before COVID – almost 10 years. I originally took the job because of the flexibility it granted my new family. I had just given birth to my oldest, and the thought of having to drop him off at daycare, rush to get to an office, and then rush back to daycare to avoid late fees was preposterous.

Plus, I had done the office thing. And lab thing. For years. I still cringe at the thought of watercooler talk and making sure my boss wasn’t coming around every corner. No thank you.

Therefore, when I was asked to travel to our headquarters 2 weeks ago, I was a bit concerned. While they’ve sent multiple emails enforcing a 3-day return-to-office (RTO) policy, this supposedly only applied to folks living within the vicinity OF an office. I was hired as a work-from-home (WFH) employee to begin with. Even if I wanted to go to an office, there isn’t one within the state.

So, I was skeptical and apprehensive about the time at the main office. Would they try to sway me to relocate? Would there be chatter about remote employees being unfairly treated? Were the conditions at the office so dismal that no wonder the RTO policy would be unpopular?

Lo and behold, the exact opposite. Not only was I embraced by colleagues that have never before seen me in the flesh, but the office was so attractive that it created a positive and energetic vibe bursting with collaboration. My coworkers seemed relatively excited and happy. Sure, there was some chatter about an open-office concept where you don’t have a daily assigned desk and the 5-minute walk time between buildings can make for some interesting meeting schedules. But no real complaints about the commute or lack of flexibility in coming & going when you need to.

Which leads me to my counterpoint for corporations.

Corporations, especially Big Tech, are geared toward AI strategies and in turn, coercing people to leave or retire based on their RTO policies, according to a recent article in Forbes. While this may seem like an easy cop out in the near term, eventually these same companies will have to hire folks to manage the AI. And those people, like me, are probably introverts who enjoy sitting behind a computer. Why on earth will they want to come to the office?

There needs to be a balance established. And let me preempt this by saying, I’m all for hiring talent where talent is located, aka remote employees should be a consideration for the future. However, if RTO is necessary for local hires, then the following needs to occur:

1. Leverage on their working hours – the likelihood they can maintain the same schedule each day is slim. School events, doctor’s appointments, 4-hour windows for maintenance solutions, etc, are going to inevitably derail the 9-5pm.
2. Providing a collaborative environment within the office building – if folks are only heading to an office to sit at a desk and stare at their computer, what is the point? They can do this at home. If brick and mortar costs are the only reason companies are requiring RTO, then perhaps they should downsize.
3. Perks never hurt – free coffee, an outdoor space, perhaps even an on-site gym with a shower? These can be quite attractive to people trying to do it all without driving all over the city.
4. Don’t charge your own employees parking fees. Again, if the cost of maintaining the brick and mortar building necessitates leaching off of your own workforce, then downsize.
5. Treat adults like adults – people who are productive will be productive without constant micromanaging or oversight on the amount of badge swipes they’ve made entering the building that week. Do companies want work done or do they want to babysit?

All of this to say, I’m super content with working from home, but I wouldn’t mind traveling to a supportive office environment quarterly…err, better make that twice a year.