Post Pandemic, 41% Of Americans Are Embracing Hybrid Working

The Hill ^ | 05/19/2023 | AOIFE BARRY

[ChicagoConservative27]

During the pandemic, US employers embraced the new––and necessary––normal of working from home. But in the past year, the situation has begun changing rapidly. Major employers like Disney and Amazon have been moving employees back into the office for a few days a week––while over at Twitter, last November Elon Musk scrapped its work from home policy.

As for what the wider landscape looks like in the US, a recent study from Pew Research Center shows that while the number of solely remote workers is dropping, hybrid working is becoming increasingly attractive.

[ChicagoConservative27]

Why is hybrid work new and necessary??? What if you like the office?

[Alberta's Child]

Work-from-home numbers had been declining steadily since 2021 as more and more office-based employers are forcing their staff back into the office.

Interestingly, that trend has suddenly begun to reverse in the early months of 2023. I suspect this is being driven by employers downsizing their office presence as their leases expire and forcing people to work from home whether they like it or not.

[Tench_Coxe]

Nothing wrong with liking the office. Personally, I think hybrid can work. I’ve heard the argument against it regarding productivity (how do we know they’re actually working), but I’d argue those sluffing off at home would be sluffing it off in the office (I’ve seen a lot of the latter over the years—80/20 rule applies)

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

One notes the manufacture of new phrases and words, courtesy of the Lefty chaps at The Hill. Quite worthy of George Lakoff, and his "thesis that people's lives are significantly influenced by the conceptual metaphors they use to explain complex phenomena."

Translation: words matter. Using them like scalpels and creating new phrases and definitions is a matter of "nudging" the public discourse. And "nudging" is so often a Lefty game.

As in, Thaler and Sunstein (of the Obama administration's cast of characters).

Consider: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/how-much-can-you-nudge-good-richard-thaler-explores-possibilities-limits

[V_TWIN]

Having retired at the end of 2019 I missed the whole work from home experience, but doing some of the IT stuff I did it was completely necessary to be at the software user’s desk to correct trouble call issues.

As far as liking the office....yes I did......some of the people occupying that office however, is another discussion. 😏

[ClearCase_guy]

My employer reconfigured the workplace. Before COVID, it was all set up with individual offices, usually shared by two people.

All of that has gone away. Now it is configured as slightly larger offices, with 8 desks in each office. Almost no one has an actual assigned desk but there is a website where you can sign-up for a desk for a day at a time.

If you go into work, you are in a rather small room, with 8 people, most of whom are talking on the phone, in a Teams meeting, or having a consultation with 2 or 3 visitors. It’s a cacophony. Almost impossible to get work done. That’s how they are incentivizing people not to work from home.

[MrRelevant]

https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/employee-engagement/worker-productivity-now-at-lowest-in-75-years-report/445147

And to no ones surprise worker productivity is at an all time low

“EY-Parthenon clients have claimed that remote and hybrid work may be contributing to the trend, Draco said, according to a Yahoo! Finance report.

“From our clients across sectors, we hear similar stories of reduced productivity because of the new work environment,” he said.

Greg Onyszchuk, head of regulatory affairs at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, disagrees.

“To me, there is a significant relationship between productivity and degree of engagement,” he said.

[Sooth2222]

My office was fine, the people were fine, but the commute to NYC wasn't.

At lunchtime I go for a walk at the beach now.

I've been telecommuting since 2005. There is no amount of money that any sane person could ever pay me that could make me want to go back to physically commuting.

[dynachrome]

The company I retired from was hands on work plus the paperwork for the various jobs I did. No work from home.

[FreedomPoster]

Brilliant!

[V_TWIN]

You mean like “reproductive rights”, “planned parenthood” and “undocumented immigrants”?

Despicable to the point of being evil IMO.......but your right, they are very good at it......in a satanic kind of way that is.

[SaveFerris]

I used to like the office - when I had a more-reliable car

Nowadays, I’m looking for part-time, afternoon to evening.

But NOT working with the public.

[Codeflier]

I am one of those that prefers being in the office 100 times more than working from home. I like the psychological aspects of separating the two environments.

To me, working from home all day is not much different than house arrest. I don’t want stressful situations that sometimes arise at work to be blended with the experience of being in my house.

I want my home to be refuge from work, not part of it.

[V_TWIN]

That sounds just like something a federal government office would think up.

Whatever the most ass backwards way to approach a problem is.......yeah let’s go with that!.....saw it for 30 years. SMH

[iamgalt]

So 59% don’t

[ridesthemiles]

IF I AM SIGNING THE FRONT OF YOUR PAYCHECK-—

I WANT TO SEE THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORKING

NOT A SUBJECT FOR “THE HONOR SYSTEM”.

[ridesthemiles]

IF I AM SIGNING THE FRONT OF YOUR PAYCHECK-—

I WANT TO SEE THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORKING

NOT A SUBJECT FOR “THE HONOR SYSTEM”.

ESPECIALLY WHEN TODAY’S ‘WORKERS’WERE RAISED ON PARTICIPATION TROPHIES.

[cymbeline]

“Why is hybrid work new and necessary??? What if you like the office?”

It’s new because of today’s internet speed and because so many people’s job consists of only using a computer.

I think a lot of people like the office but don’t like the commute.

[Sooth2222]