WORKING 9-5:00

Working from home was relatively rare prior to the pandemic that took hold in 2019. Now there is a big push for return to office (RTO) work. Most notably, Trump has mandated RTO for all federal employees. Is this a smart move?

Remote Work Studies and Statistics

  • A study by Great Place To Work found that most people reported stable or even increased productivity levels after employees started working from home.
remote work skeleton desk
  • Owl Labs found that 83 percent of remote workers felt they were equally productive, if not more, than when they were physically in an office.
  • A 2019 study by Airtasker found that remote and in-office employees perform equally well, and 65% of remote workers reported feeling more productive away from the office.

According to activtrak.com, remote workers are 35-40% more productive than employees who work in a traditional office.

  • Work conducted remotely includes 40% fewer mistakes than work done at the office.
  • Work-from-home employees save an average of 72 minutes a day that would otherwise go to commuting — and give 40% of that time back to their employers.

Companies requiring employees to return to the office may face a smaller talent pool for open positions. Over time, this could hinder their ability to compete.

remote work doesn't require commuting

So Why Mandate RTO?

  • Some companies believe that in-person work can lead to increased productivity and focus, as opposed to the potential distractions of working from home.
remote work
  • Companies have invested heavily in office space, and empty desks represent a sunk cost. Returning to the office aims to justify these investments by maximizing office use.
  • Many leaders believe that in-person work strengthens company culture, boosts employee engagement, and facilitates better collaboration and mentorship.
  • Some leaders believe that in-person interaction can improve employee morale and engagement, potentially leading to higher retention rates.
  • Some argue that the lack of social interaction in remote work can lead to isolation and decreased employee well-being, which in-person work can help mitigate.

The Downside of RTO Mandates

Returning to the office after a period of remote or hybrid work presents several challenges. Here’s a breakdown of key challenges.

Employee Resistance and Discomfort

  • Many employees have grown accustomed to the flexibility of remote work and may resist returning to the office, especially if it means a loss of autonomy and control over their work-life balance.
  • Salaried employees especially, who are hired to “get the job done” regardless of the hours required, may resent the office “time clock” mentality.
  • The prospect of commuting can be a significant deterrent for some employees, who may have valued the convenience and the time saved by not commuting.
  • Commuting costs money, often including paying for parking, vehicle maintenance, fuel, tolls, insurance, or bus and train fare.
  • Many people find driving in rush hour traffic stressful.
  • With the promise of remote work, people may have taken positions too far to commute to an office and be reluctant to move.
  • A lack of clear communication and a well-defined return-to-office plan can lead to anxiety and uncertainty among employees.
  • Some employees fear that returning to the office will mean the permanent end of remote work opportunities, which can lead to a decline in morale.

Adjusting to a New Work Environment

  • After a period of remote work, employees may need to adjust to the dynamics of in-person collaboration and teamwork.
  • Companies may need to invest time and effort in fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture that supports both in-person and remote work.
  • It’s important to manage employee expectations regarding the new work environment and ensure that it meets their needs and preferences.

Managing Expectations and Communication

  • It’s crucial to proactively address employee concerns and anxieties regarding the return to the office.
  • Open and transparent communication is essential to ensure that employees are informed about the return-to-office plan and have a clear understanding of expectations.
  • Companies should actively solicit feedback from employees to ensure that the return-to-office plan is effective and meets their needs.

I found no research supporting RTO full-time for improving financial performance or firm values. On the other hand, companies with flexible work arrangements, including part-time remote schedules, are 21% more profitable than fully in-person companies.

In addition, organizations offering more flexibility can attract top talent who are uninterested in rigid RTO policies or are more distant geographically.

It seems successful companies need to allow for both in-person and remote work options.

  • This may include modifying or updating their technology infrastructure to support both.
  • In addition, companies may need to develop an employee culture that values both options.
  • Even with reduced days in an office, employees have greater flexibility in work-life balance, reduced commuting times, and lower personal expenses.
  • A perceived loss of control over how one spends one’s time can significantly impact mental health, potentially leading to or exacerbating conditions such conditions as anxiety and depression.

Variations on a Theme: Hybrid Models

Anchor days and weeks mandate employees to be in the office on designated days or weeks while allowing remote work for the remainder of the time.

Business Insider data suggests that, given an option, employers most commonly choose Tuesday for workers to come in. According to Bloomberg, Mondays are popular WFH days for project-based people. Fridays, too, are popular but for opposite reasons. (It’s easier to end early and enjoy the weekend sooner if you’re already at home).

But when all is said and done, it is the employer’s choice.

  • There’s no law that mandates employers to offer remote work options at all.
  • Even if offered, they do not have to be offered to all employees, nor are employers required to treat all employees the same regarding remote work.
  • Employers are free to set policies and make decisions based on their specific business needs, which can include factors like job function, team dynamics, and operational requirements.
  • However, employers must avoid discriminatory practices. They cannot allow remote work for certain groups while denying it to others based on protected characteristics (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, etc.).
  • If an employee with a disability requires remote work as a reasonable accommodation, employers are generally obligated to provide it, unless it would cause an undue hardship.
  • And once again, communication is key: clear communication about remote work policies and the reasons behind them can help avoid misunderstandings and potential complaints—or lawsuits!

Of course, the employee can also simply quit and try to find work with a more flexible company!

Bottom Line: Except in rare cases, an employee is required to work in the office if and when the employer mandates. Suck it up, Buttercup.

Daughter of Another Mother

My moms have always been such bastions of dignity and deportment.

Today’s blog entry was written by Kathleen Corcoran, a local harpist, writer, editor, ESL teacher, luthier, favorite auntie, cookie maker, canine servant, and fortunate daughter of multiple mothers.

Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday, and she won’t be here to celebrate. Like many people, I was raised by a crowd of mother figures. My siblings and I only called two of them “mom.” One of them died last year.

Mom Cheryl and my biological mom were best friends since before I was born. Though they looked nothing alike, they called each other sister.

If anyone was fool enough to question their biology, my moms would reply, “She looks like momma; I take after daddy.”

They met when Mom Cheryl was directing a summer day program at the playground near my house. Biological Mom was a health and PE teacher at a local girls’ high school. As extremely intelligent, exceptionally tall women more interested in sports than makeup, they sort of inevitably became friends.

One played field hockey and watched football; the other played rugby and watched basketball. Both were the loudest cheerleaders for whatever activity my siblings and I did.

My two moms did everything together. They cooked together, handing spoons and spices back and forth without looking, like relay racers with a baton. They maintained order on a field of fifty excited kids with their finely-tuned gym teacher voices.

They were always together for holidays, birthdays, vacations, and funerals. My biological mother’s extended family eventually included Mom Cheryl automatically when planning weddings or baptisms.

Whenever Mom Cheryl was cooking, we all knew to be careful. Instead of following a recipe, Mom Cheryl added whatever looked good at the time. Her end results were always very tasty, but she liked things hot!

My siblings were not the only beneficiaries of Mom Cheryl’s bottomless well of love. Everyone in the neighborhood knew that “Miz Cheryl” could always help with science homework, jump shots, sewing, giving insulin shots, and haircuts.

It was universally agreed that Miz Cheryl’s hugs were the best hugs.

During a hurricane, she climbed out the window of a flooded bus to rescue a nearby driver. Mom Cheryl pulled the lady out the window of her car and lifted her up into the bus just before the woman’s car was swept away.

One of the things I miss the most about Mom Cheryl is the way we could sit and be quiet together. When a chaotic family dinner or crowded wedding party was too overwhelming, Mom Cheryl would step out for a smoke break. Eventually, I noticed that she never actually lit her cigarettes, just held one in her hand so no one would question her. She was a bad influence: I started joining her to “smoke” when I was about twelve.

But then the whole world stopped making sense and Mom Cheryl was gone. This wonderful lady, this pioneer for women’s sports, this unstoppable Amazon of hugs and quiet spaces won’t be here to celebrate her birthday tomorrow.

Ladybug can have the steak. I’ll have the beer.

When Mom Cheryl died, her dog Ladybug came to live with me. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have a beer and a steak in our absent mom’s memory.

COVID’S MYSTERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS: NOT JUST PHYSICAL

I’m not sure if this counts as photoshop or forced perspective.
Sprouting wings and antlers may be a side effect of quarantine, but doctors haven’t established a link with the coronavirus.

Because this is Women’s History Month, women will be the focus of all my March blogs. Unfortunately, COVID isn’t yet history—but it will be! And history may fail to note some of the lesser-known side-effects of the pandemic.

All of the examples of non-medical pandemic side effects are from women I actually know.

Newly Discovered (or Re-Discovered) Interests and Skills

1) She found her old jewelry-making supplies and started making necklaces and earrings to sell online.

2 & 3) Sisters who have undertaken plant therapy, focusing on (obsessing about) caring for their houseplants.

  • Why the Christmas cactus leaves are yellow and how to fix it.
  • Why the leaf edges are crispy. 
  • The best placement for each plant in terms of light, heat, and moisture. 
  • Also buying new plants
    • Western fern
    • Aluminium
    • Garden croton
    • Ponytail palm 
    • Stag horn fern
    • Aloe
    • Air plants
    • Jade…
  • Plant containers and accessories, such as ceramic pots, macramé holders for hanging plants and geometric air plant holders.
10) She started turning leftovers into crafts for her young nieces, such as unraveling upholstery trim to make a wig for a teddy bear.

6) She found working from home in yoga pants to be so comfortable that she decided never to wear regular waistbands again.

7) She has started creating digital learning modules for elementary grades as a way to help students whose parents are not able to stay home and supervise their children’s online classes.

8) She’s taken up needlework and sewing.

9) She plays online games and crossword puzzles.

Certain Habits (Obsessions?) That Reassure Some Women That They Are “Still Okay”

11) Every day the weather allows, she goes outside for at least ten minutes.

12) She makes a point of wearing a clean T-shirt every day.

17) She eats a regular, balanced diet, with food in each hand.

13) She set herself a strict schedule and sticks to it, eating, working, cleaning, etc. at the same time every day.

14) She gets fully dressed every day, including a complete array of jewelry.

15) She bought 23 masks so she can coordinate them with her outfits.

16) Every day, she has a video chat with at least one friend or family member, and they talk about anything except work, the pandemic, and politics.

Side Effects of Being Home All Day, Every Day

18) She has been deep-cleaning everything in the house: scrubbing the ceiling, re-grouting the bathroom tiles, disinfecting under furniture, etc.

19) She spends extra time training her dog, going way beyond basic obedience. They can do dance routines together now.

20) She’s going through the house room by room and getting rid of things. In the kitchen, it’s old herbs, spices, and condiments plus everything past its “best by” date. In the bathroom, it’s old OTC products and half-used grooming supplies. She’s purging the bookshelves of 1/3 of the books. You get the idea.

23) She painted all the woodwork, refinished the stairs, replaced the drafty windows, and more home improvements are on the horizon.

24) She is having both bathrooms and the kitchen remodeled.

25) Pulling every single weed in the flowerbeds, deadheading every couple of days, pruning, etc.

26) Every time she cooks, she makes double and freezes half so the family won’t have to worry about grocery shopping or cooking in case someone in the family gets sick or has to quarantine.

Self-Soothing Behaviors (i.e., Doing Things to Reduce Anxiety) Can Get Out of Hand

27) Instead of following the story while playing Skyrim, she spent far too many hours burying a dragon in sweet rolls.
32) Her knitting habit spread out of the house.

28) She makes soup, sometimes having five different kinds in the refrigerator at the same time.

29) She walks 3 miles around the neighborhood every morning.

30) Compulsive shopping on-line.

31) Baking elaborate (or simply large) chocolate desserts and eating the entire result by herself.

Harmful Coping

The media have made clear that smoking, drinking, drugs, and other bad habits are up during the pandemic.  Fortunately, I don’t personally know anyone relying on these bad habits.

Bottom Line: changing behaviors because of COVID often lead to changes that seem totally unrelated.

33) She was bored. I’m pretty sure she’s going to take apart my cell phone next….

DELIVERY DEBACLE REDUX: The Madness Continues

A week ago, I wrote about all the packages that hadn’t arrived before Christmas. Well, as 2021 began, the backlog continued. Again, drawing from my circle of family and friends, the waiting continued.

Some local offices haven’t switched to the newest technology yet.

. .

LJ: I’m SO frustrated. We mailed a box of gifts to Virginia on December 7. It sat in Cuyahoga Falls [Ohio] PO till December 15 before it arrived 7 miles away in Akron regional distribution center, arriving on December 17. It has been sitting there since, no movement shown in the tracking system! I know all the problems they have been having this year, but what is going on now? It only needs to get to Fredericksburg now. Just a little farther…

. .

NP: We’ve had the same problem here. A package G was expecting sat 10(!) miles from our house for more than a week.

Pretty soon, the packages might start opening themselves.

. .

KC: My box is still in Akron. No movement. The cookies are stale.

. .

TB: Me too, L! I hope EL finally got hers.

DA: BTW—we were not nearly as happy with UPS & FedEx. Several packages were randomly tossed “somewhere” in the vicinity of the house. One package (of nice chocolates) sat for a day and a half out in the rain before the meter man saw it & alerted us.

LJ: MJ had a photo of a package he sent to his sister in Buffalo. The Amazon guy left it in the snow. M got the delivery photo notice and he sent it to his sister. If they can’t get up to the house because of heavy snow, delivery people should have some way of notifying the recipient. At least Amazon’s photos help with that.

Good thing this one wasn’t left out in the snow.

TB: Our son’s pkg took almost 3 weeks from Oregon [to Ohio].

LJ: Weird, since the packages I sent to Florida and Memphis arrived at their destinations in time for Christmas with time to spare. Only my East and West destinations were screwed up. Arizona made it yesterday and Virginia is the one still traveling. That was the shortest journey by road mileage.

LJ: Mine is still at Dulles in Virginia; this is the 31st day. It needs to get to Fredericksburg. I’m happy you got yours before the New Year, however.

KC: I received a message on Dec 20 that my package was to be delivered Dec 3! It arrived on the 22nd!

There is a network distribution center in Cleveland that has been severely backlogged since September. Perhaps the letter carriers should upgrade from tricycles.

MH: I think Ohio is the problem! D had an order for pants from LLBean and there were in the center near Columbus for a month! It wasn’t a Christmas present so it didn’t matter. We didn’t realize so many people were having this problem. In Ohio’s defense, I’m sure the diversion of trucks for vaccine delivery and the major storms were a factor.

LJ: There is something wrong with the Ohio to Virginia connection.

SB: Yup, still waiting for mine. Jan 6th now.

DM: My friend ordered a Christmas present for her husband on 12/2 and by 1/4 it still hadn’t arrived!

Australian mail is delivered faster because their tricycles are yellow.

DA: We must be the only people alive who had no (zero, null, nada) problems with package delivery. Our mailings to California, New Jersey, and Boston were delivered exactly when the tracking said they’d be.  On the other hand, “normal” mail is quite another thing: no regular magazine deliveries (New Yorker, etc.), one priority mail that was sent from Hiram to our Hiram PO Box (for $3.80) took seven days. (Simply bizarre.) Not a single package or card from Europe has arrived yet—but Australian mail has exceeded all expectations. Tell me it’s not a plan to destroy the USPS so that it can be privatized….

[You may recall that in my blog about the Great Delivery Debacle posted 12/29, I offered three possible explanations—other than sheer overload—but an effort to privatize wasn’t one of them!]

Since January 1, a dam seems to have broken—but still no rhyme or reason I can find!

My order of poodles has finally arrived!

January 2-4, I received 11 packages, everything from nutritional supplements to a present I’d ordered to give as a present. Saturday and yesterday packages were delivered morning and afternoon.

Because you must be waiting with bated breath to know about the package from my sister, I won’t keep you in suspense: box of presents she mailed in Lancaster, OH, 12/11, arrived Saturday, 1/2! I was sorry to see that she had paid $20.40 for priority shipping!

Similarly, a standard  8.5X11-inch family calendar mailed from Massachusetts, $9.90 for two-day delivery, arrived after 5 days.

The other packages, mailed from all over the country between December 18 and 28, all arrived together. I noticed that two from Florida on the same day, one priority and one first class arrived together.

Surprise, shock, and awe!  An item scheduled for delivery on January 6 arrived January 4!

Some of the delivery vehicles are a bit out of date.

There is a method to all of this madness… sort of. Several factors combined this year to delay mail and package delivery schedules in every company. The various delivery servicesUS Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, Amazon, and othersoften work together to carry goods to their destinations.

In particular, the Post Office is often responsible for delivering mail to individual residences in less populated areas, regardless of which company began the shipping. This means that a delay in any of the delivery services almost always ripples out.

Holiday delivery surges happen every year, but this year was extra special! You may remember some disruptions in US mail services from this past year, highlighted again at election time. Many of those disruptions are still in place.

I still think the new guy looks shifty.

Sorting equipment that was removed and destroyed has not been replaced. Delivery trucks have not been serviced and so have broken down. Employees are still exposed to COVID, and many are sick or have passed away.

Kim Frum, a senior public relations representative for USPS, released a statement that read, in part, “While every year the Postal Service carefully plans for peak holiday season, a historic record of holiday volume compounded by a temporary employee shortage due to the COVID-19 surge, and capacity challenges with airlifts and trucking for moving this historic volume of mail are leading to temporary delays.” 

Employees at Amazon, FedEx, DHL, Hermes, and UPS also interact regularly with the public and thus are exposed to increased risk of COVID. International service has been disrupted because of travel restrictions. Everyone is dealing with increased volumes because people are ordering things online to comply with quarantine orders.

. .

The Postal Police take their job pretty seriously.

The madness comes from playing Russian roulette with your packages. Will your box be the one in the back corner of the truck? Will your letter be the one that won’t fit in the bag and has to be left for the next round? Will your parcel be the one that hasn’t been sorted by the end of the shift and must stay in the warehouse until tomorrow? Most chancy of all: whose mail will that shifty new guy take to the TV studio with him?

. .

Bottom line: I’m waiting to see what the new mailing normal will be.