Future of Work Roundup: July 29

This week’s Future of Work Roundup looks at how remote work preferences are on the up and up, plus some innovative ways big businesses are trying to make work more enjoyable.

Remote work preferences are on the up and up.

Studies from the WFH Research say that the pendulum is starting to swing regarding the amount of work-from-anywhere days employees want vs. the ones they’re getting.

WFH FTW!

• The average number of days per week employees are given the green light to work remote has gone up: 1.5 days per week in January 2021, compared to nearly 2.5 days in June 2022.
• This may be a signal that, even with a looming potential recession, workers still feel like they have the edge in asking for what they want. Economist Nick Bloom says,‘“Employers that increased the number of remote days did so out of concern for worker productivity and retention.”

The bottom line: Employers are finding ways to cut costs to keep their valuable employees around, like leasing less office space and taking their in-person events back to elevated virtual platforms. That means doing simple, free things to keep their people happy, like expanded options for flexible work, is the least they do.

Source: Quartz

Designing a workplace that sucks a little bit less.

Aside from flexible remote work options, good pay, and Insta-worthy perks, what else does an employee want? Well, less stress and a more meaningful job. 

Huh, that does sound nice.

• The pandemic shed a huge light on how poorly things were going for employees in most industries – hence the enormous realization that working remote brings upon a whole new and improved sense of work/life balance.
• But outside of tangible bonuses, data from the Harvard Business Review suggests that companies need to incorporate management mindset shifts – particularly around antiquated performance management protocols.

The bottom line: While corporate America is far from equitable rainbows and butterflies, big businesses like lululemon, Walmart and Amazon have embraced some of these business practices, even seeing an uptick in retention and performance. But this kind of systemic rethinking will take time and effort, requiring the right tools to get the job done efficiently.

Source: Harvard Business Review