It seems a few organisations are bucking the trend around remote and hybrid working.

 

I’ve had conversations with two fast growing software-oriented product businesses recently and rightly or wrongly they ‘are all in the office’, five days a week.

 

Their message in the first conversation or their message in their first interaction with a potential employee or contractor is ‘we need you to be in the office five days a week’. Now they absolutely allow flexibility if there is a sick family member, or you have an appointment etc BUT they are trying to shape and mature a particular culture.

 

They are well aware of:

  • The current NZ labour challenges
  • The flow of talent out of NZ is greater than what it is coming in
  • Their approach will make the pool of talent available to them even smaller
  • That offshore organisations are targeting Kiwi talent and having them work remotely for a global brand
  • The ‘gig economy’ is here meaning that some people are doing several different engagements and need to be remote

Part of me goes, I love that approach where they are trying to build and create their culture, encourage an environment of listening and learning, where it takes two seconds to walk across to a colleague’s desk and have a conversation versus waiting for them to reply to a Teams message, or the ability to go for a walk and spit ball an idea together.

 

The other part of me goes, would I want that given some of the productivity gains I’ve experienced? Staying home has allowed me to spend more time with family by not having to battle the traffic into work, get through a ‘to-do’ list with minimal interruptions, and kept me healthy by not being around those that are battling a cold or a particular virus.

 

I’ve read articles where those with deeper pockets than most are doing things such as ‘cooking classes in the evening’, ‘lunches supplied’ to help entice their employees back into the office but then on the flip side I know many NZ organisations that simply wouldn’t have enough desks if everyone was to return to the office!

 

My parting thoughts, I suspect the current hybrid model we see right now is here to stay. What do you think?

  • 100% office with some flexibility
  • ‍Hybrid– 3 days in the office
  • Hybrid– 2 days in the office
  • 100% -WFH / Remote

Let me know your thoughts directly at: nathan.masters@taska.co.nz

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