Jim Fitzpatrick

Columnist

Jim Fitzpatrick,

Journalist and Broadcaster

Time to Return to the Office?

Journalist and broadcaster Jim Fitzpatrick discusses how workingfrom-home could be here to stay, and should employees be the one to make this decision?

There’s been a lot of democracy recently: a DUP leadership contest; significant by-election in Hartlepool; and elections in Scotland and Wales. The point about democracy is that we all accept the outcome even if it’s not the one we want because we accept that the vote confers legitimacy on the decision.

In the wake of the pandemic, there’s also been an outbreak of democracy, of sorts, in many companies across the world. In those countries with falling rates of transmission and rising rates of vaccination, firms are trying to assess the best way of working into the future.

We have all experienced the Working-From-Home (WFM) revolution and probably been surprised at how many work tasks and processes have been managed in this strange environment over the last year. Now, just because it may be safe to go back into the office, companies must ask themselves if they should. Or should they continue with WFM or a hybrid model?

Some companies have decided to fully embrace the WFM method such as Northern Ireland insurance firm Hughes, which announced in March that its 250 employees would not be returning to the office, but would now be permanently based at home.

Others, though, are wrestling with the dilemma of what to do and have decided to ask their employees what they want. This is where we’ve seen an outbreak of what looks like democracy in companies across the world with workers being polled on what they want to do.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that these polls have a similar legitimacy to the democratic exercises mentioned above. The key difference, for most, is that the staff surveys are consultative, not binding. The employees have a chance to enlighten management thinking, but they’re not the ones taking the decision.

Because companies are not, ultimately, democratic organisations; they require leadership that sets a direction and makes strategic decisions. For some companies a move towards full WFM may work. For others it could be a disaster. And individual employees are not necessarily the best placed to make that decision.

Steve Jobs, the late founder of Apple, once reminded an audience that it was not his job to give customers what they want. It was his job to give customers what they didn’t know they wanted. If Henry Ford has surveyed the population in his day, they would have told them they wanted faster horses. “Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page,” as Jobs put it.

And so it is today as firms look to the future in this uncertain world. It’s significant that Google, for instance, initially signalled that it wanted employees to move back to the office. It’s now suggesting a hybrid model. Google’s decisions are guided by a very deep understanding of how its employees are working, performing, and developing. It obviously sees the need for the workplace distinct from the home.

So, the challenge for senior managers across Northern Ireland today is to consider what’s best for their employees, and their companies as they map the road ahead. A bit of democracy could help guide those decisions, but don’t be fooled into thinking that it will offer the answers.

“For some companies a move towards full WFM may work. For others it could be a disaster. And individual employees are not necessarily the best placed to make that decision.”