Working from home (WFH). Some love it. Some hate it.
Our overseas guest Covid flew in and ensured we all got very comfortable with back-to-back video meetings, running to the kitchen for a quick coffee, wearing shorts with a shirt and stuffing a load of washing into the machine whenever a meeting ended early (oh the joy).
Then we hit Zoom Fatigue. I now need to see people in real-life. But a few trips back into the office post-lockdown and many thought, “Stuff that … I prefer being at home.” What funny creatures we are.
Fast-forward to today and managers are now faced with trying to “order” their staff back into the office. When even the managers at Zoom themselves are now doing this (see BBC news article re Zoom employees), you can’t help but grin.
Earlier this week I was working with a Senior Manager at a large insurance company. They told me that after an email was sent to staff about returning to the office for two days a week (yes … just two days a week), one staff member (with no special circumstances) had replied with:
I DON’T THINK THAT’S DO-ABLE.
Wow. It’s at times like these, as a manager/leader, that your patience gets tested. Whenever I manage staff, I’m never 100% “for the business”. Nor am I 100% “for the workers.” To me, it’s always a juggling act. It’s about standing up for what I personally feel is fair and reasonable (and lawful, of course), even if that gets me into trouble. Good managers try to keep staff happy as well as the big boss (the company), whilst not compromising their own values and beliefs. Ultimately, in my opinion, it’s about what’s best for The Team. Not saying I always get it right (I don’t) but sometimes you’ve gotta make a tough choice. Which someone, somewhere, will bitch about.
I wonder how that particular worker would feel if their manager said, “I know we normally pay you each week. But this week we don’t think that’s do-able.” Occasionally, us human beings get spoilt. We get comfortable. We expect a once-off bonus to be paid every year. We start to see a privilege as a right. “Hey, you know that special thing you did for me? I’m now entitled to that all the time.” You, the manager, have to call it out when it happens.
Do you remember (pre-Covid) when it was considered unusual (and quite fabulous!) when your boss said you could work from home one day a month? How quickly we forget. The pendulum has swung firmly in favour of workers (near-record low unemployment of 3.5%) but one day it will swing the other way. Managers don’t forget how their team members behave; good and bad. Giving you everything you ask for when the reality is you signed up for the job voluntarily and knew what it entailed?
Sorry … I don’t think that’s do-able.
