Resentment In The Remote Work Era

6 min. read

Work-life balance has been a real touchpoint over the past few years and the rise of remote work has led to a bigger separation

An amazing workplace is not full of resentment or feelings of being taken advantage of. This applies to management and everyone else. Work-life balance has been a

real touchpoint over the past few years and while there’s always been an imbalance between leadership and employees in the workplace, the rise of remote work has led

to a bigger separation.


This kind of imbalance could not only harm your bottom line, but create employee disengagement and lower your productivity. If you want your organization to feel like

an amazing workplace, you'll have to take into account the needs of your staff both at a management and a team member level.


The remote work conundrum

Much research has been done about how our ways of working have changed since the global pandemic. Working remotely became the norm and that changed

everything. Now, working remotely or using a hybrid model has become commonplace.


Managers are continuing to work remotely and enjoying the good life, but at the same time they’re expecting their team members to show up at the office. Research

has found that, all around the world, 70 percent of office workers are now back in the office for at least one day a week.


We are watching you

The new trend in management is to keep an eye on employees, watching to make sure that they are performing and not wasting time while being paid. This trend is

causing problems between management and staff. An amazing place to work shouldn’t feel like Big Brother is watching you all the time, because each team

member should be engaged, positive and ready to go to work.


At an amazing workplace people are excited about the tasks they have to accomplish because they care. If team members feel like they’re being taken

advantage of, or disrespected, they will become disengaged. Quiet quitting is a real danger these days. They could even start not showing up to the office at all, or look

for other employment.


A study by Cowen Partners (a company that helps other companies fill management positions from directors through the C suite) found that around 80 percent of

executive jobs are now available to be filled remotely. That is up 25 percent from pre-pandemic levels. This means that while many companies have staff that do

come into an office environment, the manager isn’t there in person.


The reason many executives say they are taking on remote positions is so that they can have a better work-life balance. Studies found they want to work their own hours

and find it easier to talk to teammates in different time zones when they work remotely.


While the work-life balance of the executives may be in order, this can be pulling the harmony of the workplace off kilter. Management typically earn more money than the

average employee. This means that they already have the benefits of bigger properties, access to daycare, and usually a better support system.

After COVID many people moved to a more spacious suburban or rural property and are now facing a longer commute than before. Having to go into the office now could

take a lot more time, effort and cash, especially with the cost of living increasing and inflation on the rise.


Why do managers want their team members back in the office?


Costs:

Research by Fiverr found that one in four managers want employees back on-site full-time because the company is already paying for the real estate at the office.

They feel that this is a waste of money if there aren’t people there to justify those costs. Companies are paying for electricity, insurance, rent, and cleaning as well as

service plans for equipment and other bills.


Security:

It is also down to a security and access issue. While it might be more convenient to work from home for many people, some companies have intranets and closed

company infrastructure. Accessing this kind of network may require a bit more attention than simply logging in on your personal laptop. Proprietary or confidential

data, all materials need to be treated carefully.


Just over 40% of managers said they believe their employees could have better access to company infrastructure by being on-site.


While this may be understandable, the cost of employees coming into the office every day versus them running their own home office and working remotely, begins

to be a little bit of a problem. What is more productive in the long run? If your employer demands you’ll be present at the office and you feel like your time is more

valuable, then it’ll be only a matter of time before you quit. The world has changed and we have to change with it.


42 percent of workers say they’d think about quitting if they were forced to come back to the office for a five-day week.

The media has reported many cases of companies beginning to monitor their employees. Bosses want the team members as well as management to account for

the time that has been paid for. While to many, especially Millennials, this might seem Scrooge-like, it comes down to the bottom line.


If your time has been paid for then the person who is paying for it wants to know what you are doing in the time that has been bought. That is all well and good,

however, the world has changed.


Think outside the proverbial box:

A production line approach does not work when you take into account remote or hybrid work and access to technology. Work-life balance is something that is also

incredibly important. A walk in the woods while looking at nature could also be utilized as a brainstorming session or a client call. It depends on how one uses the

time.


Dangling Carrots:

Some companies and managers are trying to entice workers to come back to the office. Perks are being offered by many companies trying to get employees back

where they can be monitored. Free massages and private concerts for the employees as well as better coffee have been seen to be on offer.


This may be better than demanding staff return to the office or risk getting fired, but it still doesn’t seem to be working. A recent report by Kastle Systems found that office

occupancies all across the United States are still far below pre-pandemic levels.


Research by Fiverr found that most workers in America hated the idea of returning to the office. One out of every five said that nothing management offered would make

any difference. No incentive at all would make them want to return to their workplace.

If you have an amazing workplace your employees should want to come into the office, it should be their choice. It’s up to you to decide how you're going to build your

own amazing workplace.