Remote office work is here to stay and the implications are largely positive

Hybrid working schedules are here for good. I know, because I drive a hybrid to my office every day.

Get it? MY CAR IS A TOYOTA PRIUS. A HYBRID CAR!

Anyway, I've been back at my office for nearly a year, but that scenario is far from universal. In fact, a recent Gallup poll of nearly 12,000 U.S. employees in remote-capable jobs showed that nearly 40% are working either partly or entirely from home.  Nearly half!

To emphasize the obvious, many jobs can't be done remotely. You can't be a restaurant server from home. You can't be a bus driver or a police officer or professional mime (unfortunately). So the Gallup survey was of those who can work remotely.

While 40% of remote-potential workers work at least partially remotely, a full 70% of all such workers say would prefer that scenario (which suggests that about 30% of them – the gap between those who do work remotely and those who wish they could – are looking for another job).

As hybrid work becomes more common, a late-March Gallup article highlighted four important dynamics of hybrid work, including some things that we used to think were untrue.

The first principle is counterintuitive (at least to companies that have long refused to allow remote work): Folks who work remotely (or who mix on-site and remote work) are more engaged and less likely to experience burnout. Counter to what employers have long said, providing flexible working arrangements makes people feel more connected and makes the job better.

A downside of remote work from the Gallup study and article is that remote work results in a decrease in feedback from the manager. That makes sense in a way because being out of sight (and away from the site) can put someone out of mind. And you don't get the kind of accidental feedback that sometimes happen when there's zero chance you'll walk by your boss's office or meet her while getting coffee.

Maybe the most affirming conclusion of the Gallup report is that despite what management presumed for years, people are actually more productive working remotely than while at the office. This runs counter to the longstanding management theory that employees will only work when they're being watched. Which is insulting and clearly wrong (since we can't be watched all the time anyway).

The final conclusion from Gallup is an argument against remote work. The ability to build and perpetuate workplace culture is much easier to do when there is shared time. That, of course, presumes the workplace culture is positive. The survey didn't address whether some negative workplaces might improve morale by decreasing exposure to "culture."

The Gallup poll and follow-up article ultimately addressed what's becoming obvious: Some version of remote or hybrid work is here for good. The future involves many or most office workers doing their jobs from home.

More than two years after the pandemic started and more than a year after most people were vaccinated, it's clear that there is a permanent change.

Take it from someone who works in a 10-story building that used to have hundreds of people in it and now has a few dozen: Hybrid work is here to stay.

Trust me, I know: As I wrote earlier, I drive a hybrid to work every day.

Get it?

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.