Stop Gaslighting Me! Remote Work is Complicated - there is no Easy Button.

What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right - Albert Einstein. 

I’m pretty sure that I am the only person advocating to bring back the term “gaslighting” but, under the current circumstances, I believe it is appropriate.

Companies and individuals seem intent on convincing the world that they are benevolently and innocuously embracing permanent remote work policies: “People are more productive!”; “Work from anywhere!”; “Attract more talent!”. 

All of these benefits may be true under certain circumstances but at what cost?  Blindly closing down office space and instituting remote work as the standard can be overly simplistic and have harmful consequences.

And although technically, yes, this is a case against blindly instituting permanent remote work policies this is more a case for creating thoughtful solutions to complicated problems across all aspects of society even when it is not hip or cool to do so. Specifically, I am asking that we consider the following: 

1. Why there is no “easy button” related to remote work; 
2. How remote work is not always optimal for people;
3. How remote work is not always optimal for companies; and 
4. How remote work as a default is not optimal for society as a whole.

Let’s dive in.

Remote Work Is A Complicated Issue; There Is No “Easy Button”.  

Robust statistics and vehement arguments exist both for and against remote work.  I believe this is because both positions can simultaneously be true. It can be true that some people in some roles might be somewhat more productive while working remotely. It can also be true, however, that blanket remote work policies can be unhealthy and unsustainable.  

To be crystal clear: I absolutely believe there is a thoughtful way to incorporate WFH/remote work policies for the benefit of both the employee and the company but that there is not an “easy button” to address the complexities involved in this issue.

Even before the pandemic of 2020, people and companies had already begun embracing more remote work and telecommuting accommodations. The COVID times simply accelerated a movement that was already happening. Now we are seeing some of the early consequences of the pandemic-forced use of the “easy button”: 

• 68% of people are suffering from workplace burnout due to WFH
• 49% of remote workers are reporting a drop in productivity 
• Remote workers report feeling isolated, lonely, and depressed at home
• Remote workers are among the least engaged of any worker (30%)

JPMorgan, Apple, and Salesforce are just a few companies calling people back to the office due to productivity concerns. This shouldn’t be a surprise given that companies that had previously instituted ambitious remote work policies like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo, and Best Buy have reverted those policies. 

So why then, in light of evidence showing that people are more anxious,  burnt out and unsafe are employees and companies pushing for more remote work?

The reason “remote work” is a tricky issue to see objectively is because individuals and companies are currently agreeing on this issue - but for far different reasons.  

On one hand, individuals are optimizing for their own short-term comfort.  WFH is easier.  Flexibility with hours. Less commuting. It feels “safer”. It is more comfortable. 

Companies, on the other hand, are optimizing for their P&L and for the public’s perception. Let’s save money on office space. Reduce exposure to liability. Not get vilified online. Pay people less.  

This “easy button” approach is not limited to the current remote work debate.  As a society, we are desperate for an easy way out of the pandemic (a super-fast vaccine!), systemic racial inequality (defund the police!), polarized politics (vote Trump in or out!), family dynamics, health care, child care, and schooling, media reporting, and so on and so on. 

There is no easy button for any of these issues.  Nor should there be.  

As individuals and a society, we need to realize these issues are complicated and deserve significant amounts of our effort, resources, and attention to create thoughtful, holistic solutions. 

Companies can (and should) choose to prioritize both the health of the business and the employees in a balanced way - not for either’s selfish benefit but for objective reasons and the greater good.  

Let’s start by reviewing how remote work is not helping people emotionally and how it is actually making people more unhappy.

Remote work is not always optimal for individual human beings.  

No matter how many Zoom meetings, Slacks, or Google Hangouts you have while working from home, the fact is that you are not actually with other human beings.  While this is do-able for small periods of time, it ultimately goes against human nature.

By nature, we are communal creatures. We build families, cities, communities, companies, and countries as ways to come together to be with others and find meaning and purpose in our lives. As a good juxtaposition, we need only look to one of the most extreme punishments handed out in a prison setting: solitary confinement.

The COVID pandemic has caused a unique type of isolation not seen in memorable history. 

Remote work can feel like a new-age version of prolonged solitary confinement.  Children can’t play with their friends, spouses and partners don’t get to come home with unique “news of the day” for discussion, and single people are having to try and forge intimate connections over video chats, if they are still dating at all. This is making people more miserable and exhausted than ever - especially women and minorities. 

So in terms of remote work and the individual, it seems as though optimizing for comfort, ironically, actually creates a life that is more uncomfortable. This is not news to some. 

Don’t get me wrong – this pandemic helped deflate the expectation bubble many leaders, including myself, had around the logistics of remote work.  Clearly, there are a lot of advantages to using remote work as one of the tools to create a happy and healthy work environment but optimizing for the short-term goals of both people and companies can have lasting negative ramifications on us as human beings. 

Let’s take a look at the relationship between remote work and companies. 

Remote work is not always optimal for companies.   

Later we’ll get to the not-so-altruistic reasons why the “Big Dogs” (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Square, etc.) can loudly and happily embrace remote work, but let’s start with why remote work is not optimal for companies that prioritize innovation, agility, and high-quality collaboration. Because of their vital importance to the health of our economy, I will refer to these organizations as the “Backbone Companies”. 

I believe that prioritizing the health of businesses should be done without shame or apology.  The survival of a middle class is inextricably linked to a thriving entrepreneurial society – and this link will be crucial as our economy recovers from the pandemic. That does not mean, however, that the prioritization of the company comes at the cost of the dignity, safety, and respect of employees but we all need to be on the same page: If healthy businesses fail, we all fail.

While it might be true for a small subset of people that remote work allows for “fewer interruptions” and “more focus” when their coworkers aren’t talking loudly or being rowdy, this argument only holds weight from the perspective of an individual and their personal productivity - it does not account for the overarching health or progress of the company as a whole.  It also does not account for the pandemic’s impact on people with families working remotely which, for many, can most aptly be characterized as a “productivity disaster”.  

The individual productivity perspective ignores another critical fact: Remote work decimates operational efficiencies. Phone calls make collaboration harder. Distractions abound. People aren't really paying attention. 

You can’t lean over and ask someone a question, whiteboard quickly to solve a difficult problem or read someone’s body language that conveys critical feedback on an issue or product. These efficiencies are crucial to building bonds between humans, training new employees, consistently delivering high-quality work product to clients, being creative and efficiently solving problems.

Some companies may accept these costs and take the necessary steps to accommodate the decreases in operational efficiencies (e.g. pay people lower salaries, lay people off, or have outside money that helps them staff more humans) but these options are not viable for the Backbone Companies wanting and needing to run a healthy business. 

I believe the Backbone Companies can use this window of opportunity to consciously and intentionally create a new and better world. One where leaders advocate for uniting people and do not blindly jump on the trendy bandwagon of the Big Dogs because it is easy but stand up for policies that will actually make people’s lives better.  

For sure, this will be an iterative process of a thousand steps that begins with one: Admitting that the road forward might not be clear or easy but we have to build it together on a solid foundation.  

Remote Work as a Default is Not Optimal for Society

The long term impact of remote work for society at large is the aspect of this discussion that I believe is both most important and most often left out of the conversation.  

Companies choosing to implement blanket remote work policies often trivialize the benefits of in-office interactions by equating the encounters to “watercooler” moments or a child’s “play time” that can be compensated for through more frequent offsite meetings and virtual coffee breaks.  

I believe this characterization is flawed and building a policy upon these assumptions is a misstep in the process of architecting a healthy remote work policy. In-office work actually helps lay a solid foundation upon which a more unified and egalitarian country can exist.  

Without considering the larger implications, remote work policies can have negative, long-lasting impacts on society. Specifically, they can promote elitism and widen income inequalities. 

Let’s break down each one. 

Remote Work Policies Promote Elitism.  

Indisputably, remote work and WFH policies are almost exclusively available to white-collar workers (and mostly in the technology industry).  Essential workers have neither the physical ability nor the political power to demand remote work conditions. 

When the white-collar workers no longer have to overlap their daily routines with essential workers, essential community functions no longer stay a priority.  For example - if the white-collar workers no longer have to commute to an office, why would they spend any significant amount of time or effort helping to ensure that public transportation as a whole is safe, available, and affordable?  If influential parents are able to make accommodations for virtual learning while working remotely how are we ensuring that the children of essential workers are not left behind? 

The elitism of remote work policies can also be seen in other day-to-day activities.  Remote workers usually have the means to travel, have food delivered to them, order and receive packages from Amazon, and to patronize restaurants, bars, beauty salons, gyms, and movie theaters.  

All of these activities rely on workers that have to physically be at their job and do not have “remote work” as an option. Simultaneously, the remote workers are using their status and power to demand the continued privilege of working from home even when their work product, productivity, and focus suffers - even when their work product directly or indirectly impacts the essential workers that serve them in the circle of life that is our economy. 

In the industry I serve, for example, senior living - essential workers must go to work every day to care for our country’s elders. Our company produces software that helps those communities operate. If our service and productivity takes a hit, that directly and negatively impacts those essential workers and the people they care for daily. I believe that all industries are connected like this even if we can’t always see those connections clearly. 

Remote work will increase income inequality and widen socioeconomic gaps. 

In addition to further entrenching the “haves” and “have-nots” remote work will further increase income inequality by financially limiting younger workers, entry-level individuals, and people with less formal education that may need more in-office mentoring. 

Not everyone thrives professionally doing remote work.  Do you know who does?  Experienced, disciplined individuals who received in-office training, in-person mentoring, and have the focus that comes from not understanding what a Tik Tok is.  

My point is that many of the people who work from home well do so because they have already received the benefits of working in an office environment. 

Younger and newer colleagues can struggle in remote work set-ups as it prevents them from receiving the same level of professional development as some of their colleagues. This, in turn, hinders their earnings and growth potential. 

Mentoring and coaching happen most effectively in person.  Humans need the opportunity to watch each other move, speak, interact with others, sell products, train, and handle upsetting calls. They need to be invited to awkward meetings and experience the electricity, the tension, the nervousness, the love, and the brilliance that can happen as skilled colleagues navigate difficult situations. Social context is needed for humans to become multidimensional, empathetic, well rounded human beings.  

Parents know this to be true. I cannot remotely teach my son to be a good and kind human.  No matter how many YouTube videos he watches, the internet cannot teach him how to speak to people kindly, comfort a grieving friend, or to be brave and truthful in scary situations. New careers are similar in almost every way and deserve the same attention if we want to set the next generation up to be financially stable, empathetic, and independent.  

The people currently struggling during this pandemic, and the ones that get laid off or fired, are most likely entry level employees at beginning salary bands.  At best, these individuals will keep their positions but will be stuck at a lower level for a longer period of time because it is very difficult to progress career-wise remotely. 

With the entry-level people turning over quickly or being stuck at their entry-level positions, it becomes more important to solidify mid-and-upper level managers.  This means that the salary increases and other benefits now exclusively flow to the people that already have them and not a new generation of individuals. This issue continues to snowball, widening the gap not only in companies but in our country as a whole.  This is not a good, sustainable long term solution for anyone. 

As we go down this rabbit hole, it becomes easier to understand why the “Big Dogs” are quick to embrace remote work policies. They can pay people less. They can hire and fire people much easier when everyone is stationed remotely - especially given the current unemployment rates. Plus, it’s way easier to “off-board” someone you’ve never met face-to-face. It’s certainly less messy to email a UPS label to a departing employee to retrieve equipment than helping them pack up their belongings. Paying people less is just the beginning. 

Remote work will increase inequalities as not all homes are created equally. 

Last, but certainly not least, homes are not a safe space for everyone.  

Companies need to seriously consider whether they can guarantee all current and prospective employees will have access to a safe home environment that is conducive to remote work.  

The levels of domestic violence are already shocking and are only increasing during the pandemic given the heightened levels of stress people are feeling and the extended periods of time people are spending together.  

When people are suffering from forms of “intimate terrorism” they will not be as productive at work. The decrease in productivity puts their job in jeopardy. If the at-risk person loses their job, they lose a lifeline out of their unsafe situation: Money.  And the cycle of violence continues. 

Another aspect of blanket remote work policies that can be overlooked is their negative impact on diversity and inclusion initiatives.  A healthy office space helps provide a level playing field for employees as people may not have the same resources at a home office. 

As noted in a May 2020 Fortune article by Danielle Abril:

Distance reinforces people’s tendency to favor people who are similar to them.  It also eliminates the opportunity for spontaneous conversations between different people who may be nearby or passing through. 

Permanently closing a safe office space hinders the in-person interactions and hands-on professional development initiatives that are essential to successfully diversifying an organization. Companies need to commit to holistically reviewing the impact of these policies on their organizational structures, career tracts, mentorship programs, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

Conclusion

We are in a confusing and disorienting time. Finding a basis for truth in the current highly politicized and polarized culture is seemingly impossible. People can’t trust politicians on either side of the aisle, they can’t trust each other, and they can’t trust the news or the internet. At the same time, we are facing very serious issues: economic, social, and legal inequalities, environmental degradation, a COVID pandemic, and an opioid epidemic just to name a few. 

I am advocating that we, as individuals and companies, respond to the challenges presented to us at this particular time in history by being brave, calm, strong, creative, and kind. Our children, teams, friends, and family need to see examples of people stepping up to do hard things during hard times - not pressing the easy button or making fear or anger-based decisions. 

We need to spend time with the “details” in order to create policies that unite us all, help people prosper, and foster the purpose, safety, magic, and fulfillment in our work that I strongly believe is possible if we tackle these issues together.  We can create thoughtful solutions to complicated problems. And we can start with the concept of remote work.  

Thank you for reading!  For anyone interested in reading more on this subject, my favorite perspective on remote work came from Tracy Brower and can be found here. My second favorite can be found here.