Workers from companies such as Apple, Google, and Tesla have pushed back against office-return mandates, even going public with their frustrations. But this discrepancy isn’t just impacting corporations — small businesses are feeling the pressure too.
Despite this seemingly endless game of tug-of-war, it is predicted that remote work will prevail, but not for ideal reasons.
New variants of Covid-19 have begun to emerge worldwide, with the most dangerous being BA.5, which is found to be more resistant to vaccinations and protection from previous infections. Hospitalizations have grown in other countries where it is the dominant strain, and the same is likely to happen in the U.S.
While current vaccines may help keep hospitalizations down, they are not as effective in preventing infection rates. As a result, it is assumed that companies will be forced to forgo their office desires as cases ramp up.
Over the last few years, companies have set and delayed office-return dates countless times. These methods were failures then, and if another Covid-19 surge occurs, they are likely to fail in the future.
While the measurement of success from an employer’s perspective is skewed, the push for a full office return could have bigger implications than these leaders realize. Without empathizing with employees and their desires, more are willing to quit their jobs for a position that provides them the amenities they seek.