Are We Still Talking About Remote Work Vs. Back-To-Office?

iStock | rfranca

The remote vs. back-in-the-office movements continue to be a tug-of-war between employers and employees. For jobseekers, the landscape can be confusing because there are no absolutes. Some companies require employees to be in the office again and some have given up and acquiesced to remote work demands. There are half-empty office buildings across the country and 25% of employees would rather switch jobs than go back to the office.

Meanwhile, many project the push-and-pull is over and by the end of 2024 you will either be in the office or out of a job. Is your dream of remote work over? Not necessarily; remote vs. back-to-the-office is still fluid. If you want to work for a giant tech company like Google or Meta, you’ll have to accept their drives to get workers back in the office and the strict monitoring to ensure the required participation. However, if working remotely is your number one priority, there are over 18,000 listings when you search “remote working” on LinkedIn.

At this stage, it’s fair to say that you can approach remote work on a case-by-case basis. Here are some things to think about if you’re considering remote work in the current labor market:

1. What kind of work do you do? The type of work you do impacts your remote opportunities and the likelihood you can find a position that’s fully remote or hybrid if that is an option you would explore. For example, if you’re in technology, then you may have a better shot at being fully or mostly remote. IT  traditionally had a very high percentage of remote workers before the pandemic so it logically follows that would remain the case. If you are in a field that lends itself to remote work there may not be an office to return to and if there is

2. How valuable are your skills? If you have a specialized skill set and are very good at what you do, you may be in such high demand that you have the leverage to take jobs on condition you would be allowed to work remotely regardless of whatever company policy is in effect. Proceed with caution and do your homework. Don’t let ego take over and assume you fall into this category. Do an honest self-assessment of how valuable you are to potential employers.

3. How committed are you to working remotely? If you are 100% committed to working remotely you need to be ready to accept its various trade-offs. As previously mentioned, there are thousands of remote jobs, but even in that large pool the one you really want may not be available unless you’re ready to hang your hat in a cubicle. If you are willing to compromise exactly what it is you do, your opportunities will expand. Conversely, due to personal circumstances, remote work may be the only kind of work you can do. For example, perhaps you have a young child, no support system, and do not have access to or resources for child care. Remote work may be a lifeline and your flexibility will open up more opportunities to you.

4. How ambitious are you?  The term “office politics” may have negative connotations to some, but the word “politics” is derived from the Greek polī́t, which means “citizen.” To be a citizen of an office means you are engaged in the operational functionality of a community and the best way to lead a community is to be an active part of it. If you work from home and your community is your two cats and a Chromebook, chances are you’re not going to be one on the top of the corporate ladder. If you’re ambitious and believe in “working your way up,” working remotely may not be your best course of action. Not being in the office compromises your visibility.

5. Are you willing to make less money to work remotely? One of the positive factors of working remotely is that your cost-of-living decreases through savings in fuel, lunches out, and potentially cheaper housing (depending on where you choose to live). In an era of spiking gas prices and inflation, that can be a powerful motivator. However, the opposite is true. If your company is based in Los Angeles but you’re working from North Dakota, your compensation will align with North Dakota instead of the ultra-expensive California.

6. Are you willing to pay to work remotely? Many companies now allow remote work but require periodic time in the office in exchange. For example, Smucker’s will trade two weeks of remote work for two weeks in the office. Some jobs may want you to be in the office just once or month or even a quarter, but travel and lodging to be there isn’t a company expense. If you need to fly from Fargo to Los Angeles once a month, are you willing to pay for your travel and lodging expenses to work remotely?

7. Do you want to be mentored? It’s hard to learn from other professionals if you’re on your laptop while doing house chores. Remote work is, by nature, isolationist. There is a reason pre-industrial society was based on a master and apprentice relationship. If you want to learn from professionals with more experience than you, you need to be in the same building with them. If you’re at the beginning of your career, a remote job may not be the best pathway to mastering a craft.

8. How entrepreneurial are you? If you want to be the master of your fate, there is no better way than starting your own business and being your boss. Negotiating a remote work schedule is much easier when you’re negotiating with yourself. If you have the chops, you can build a business that is designed to allow you to live and work from wherever you want. Good luck!

9. Nothing lasts forever. Even if you find a dream job that allows you to work remotely, keep in mind that company policies and circumstances can always change. One day you’re working remotely and the next you’re given an ultimatum to return to the office or risk termination. Be prepared for that contingency.

---

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Maximizing Your Leverage – Negotiating Remote Work (And Other Perks) In The Post-Pandemic Era

iStockphoto | z_wei

In the latest edition of CEOs Gone Wild, one CEO told her employees, “You can visit Pity City but you can’t live there,” because they weren’t getting bonuses (CEO’s compensation - $5 million), and another CEO commended an employee for selling their dog because they could not both own a pet and devote themselves to the company. Did we mention there are banking and cryptocurrency meltdowns happening? Those CEOs went wild too.

Professionals are at an inflection point with their fundamental relationship with their employers, many of whom turn out to be poor stewards of their businesses, hucksters, Cruellas, and people who are happy when other people are forced to sell their dogs. If only Dante was alive to add another circle of Hell.

While every sector has its own divides, one issue that unites skilled professionals is remote work vs. back to the office. Remote work’s demise is the prediction that never seems to materialize in a substantive way. Let’s be clear. It does not matter how many major companies push for a return to the office and how many employees ultimately do. Deep inside the professional’s consciousness, a paradigm shift has already happened. The tug-of-war has just begun.

For example, large and influential companies like Google and Apple are bringing their employees back to the office at the same time there is a new drive for asynchronous work, where remote work can be completed on any schedule the worker decides. The poles are moving further apart. Nobody wants to give. This test of wills is untenable. What happens when you want to work remotely and your employer wants you back in the office? What do you do?

As a job seeker, what kind of actual leverage do you have? Are you in an advantageous bargaining position?  The first step is to understand your parameters.

1.     Understand what’s important to you. Why do you want to work remotely? Is it because it’s a nice perk, or do you have a real need? Is it a matter of principle? You need to have an in-depth understanding of your motivating factors before you take an adversarial position than your employer or torpedo a job interview.

2.     Are you prepared for the trade-offs? You sacrifice visibility when you work remotely and it may impact your career mobility. If you are working in your remote silo, you aren’t actively developing meaningful professional relationships with your co-workers or/and clients. You may also be paid less. If you are in high demand and you want to be a digital nomad, you may be able to make it work over the long term. Otherwise, you may be a perpetual temporary worker who has walled themselves off from opportunities that may have been available to you have you returned to the office.

3.     Are you prepared to disconnect from communal and historic knowledge? Work used to be structured in a simple way - master and apprentice. In an office, there are many masters and many apprentices, and the interaction between all of these various people creates institutionalized knowledge critical for the functioning of the company and for learning new skills. If you’re not there, you’re missing out on all of that and you’re not building your professional network.

4.     Decide what you’re willing to accept. If you choose not to die on Remote-Work Hill and are willing to compromise, what model will make you happy? For example, let’s say you’re offered a mostly remote position but you have to come into the office twice a week, which means you have to live in the geographic location of where the office is located. Are those acceptable terms? If not, what would be? Think in through or what little leverage you do have may dissipate quickly during a negotiation.

5.     Companies have rights too. Hence the Golden Rule – he who has the gold makes the rules. If a company name is on your paycheck, it’s delivered on time, and it clears the bank, the company has every right to dictate the terms of what they are buying, in this case, labor. Your employer can set whatever requirements they want and if you don’t want to abide by them then you are free to seek employment elsewhere.

Now let’s take a quick look at what leverage you may have when negotiating the terms of your employment.

1.     Do an honest assessment of your skill set and the business landscape. If your employer mandates a return to the office and you’re committed to 100% remote finding common ground may not be in the cards. However, if you see movement on one or both ends you may have more negotiating power. Read the tea leaves.

2.     Understand that compromise comes from both sides. If a company is ready to compromise on how it schedules and manages its labor force, you should be ready to compromise on what you will do for the company. Unless you’re the Elon Musk of remote workers (you’re not), there will be give and take and you should be prepared to give (but don’t sell your dog).

3.     Be aware. Even if your employer is open to negotiating remote or hybrid work, you may not have as much leverage as you think you do. Don’t rush your actions. Do your due diligence. Your employer may be responsive, but if you overplay your position you may end up alienating yourself, or if you’re interviewing you may be removed from the process if they believe you’re not a right match due to differing opinions on remote work vs. return to the office.

4.     Make your opening gambit, but make it respectfully. Whether you approach a current employer or are in the interview room, be direct. Ask for what you want. You may receive a unilateral “no” and that’s that. But maybe you’ll get a maybe and then the game is on. Remember your professional etiquette. Don’t make an issue if you don’t get the answer you want. See where your e, employer or potential employer stands. If (when) asked questions about your position, be honest.

---

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

But I Don't Want To Go To Work! – Or – What To Do When Your Employer Says It's Time To Come Back To The Office

iStock | egdigital

Your professional life may not be a smooth ride. Think of the labor market as a pendulum. One moment it swings toward employers. The next moment it swings to employees. The pandemic disrupted that pattern and had two significant impacts: what is now called The Great Resignation and the normalization of remote work.

A tug-of-war about the future of remote work has been going on for a couple of years now. Let’s start with the good news. Remote work is a big hit – with employees and employers. If you’re currently in a remote job or want one, the data looks good. Many companies are continuing to allow employees to work remotely, and others are staking out the middle ground with hybrid models.

However, the pendulum is slowly swinging back to employers, who feel empowered and in control again. Companies that wish for their employees to return to the office will start to issue ultimatums to existing employees and make new open positions in-office only. If you’re one of the 26.7% of working Americans in a fully remote job and your company tells you it’s time to pull the plug and return to the office, what do you do? Here are some things to consider:

• Breathe. Know that fundamental shifts take time, like turning a big ship. While circumstances vary, companies are not likely to pull remote workers back in one swift move. Upheaval is what led to the historic rise in remote work in the first place. Upheaval as a strategy to return workers to the office makes the transition more difficult for all. Return to the office may be phased in until the staffing structures return to pre-pandemic levels.

• Take a holistic approach to make an honest self-assessment of your desires and opportunities. Whether you’re currently working remotely or want to, know there are risks, rewards, and sacrifices to planting your flag in the remote camp and returning to the office. Only you can determine the best way forward.

•  For the sake of argument, let’s say you know a return-to-the-office mandate is on the way and it comes with a hard deadline. You can accept the new terms or you’re out of a job. You know you have two options – stay or leave. Take the time to think about the steps you need to take to successfully navigate both. Is returning to the office such a bad thing? Or would you rather risk finding a new remote job? You can also bide your time - go back to the office while looking for another remote opportunity.

• Have an open discussion with your manager. If a mandate is inevitable, get as much clarity as you can about how it will progress. Don’t make assumptions or let rumors give you unnecessary anxiety. There may be no flexibility. But, in some cases, you may be able to make the business case that you remain fully or partially remote.

• If you can make the case to remain fully or partially remote, you must be able to present evidence (like you’re in a courtroom) to prove you add more value remotely than in-office. It can’t be a 1-1 proposition. If you add the same value remotely as you do in-office, then you’re headed back to the office or somewhere else. Companies expect a healthy ROI on their investments and that includes staffing. If you’re remote, you don’t have the same visibility as someone who is in the office; your work may be invaluable but there may not be a clear understanding that you’re responsible for it. Lay out your case.

•  You may be in an office job now but, encouraged by recent trends, want to work remotely. The number of fully remote workers is expected to increase, but that doesn’t mean opportunities will increase in your field. For example, if you work in IT, which already had a fair number of remote workers pre-pandemic, you’re going to have more remote work opportunities in the future than someone who works in retail. Do your homework before you choose a path. Monitor job openings. If the remote job postings dwindle and become super-competitive, assess your parameters for how you make a living. In other words, is a having a job that doesn’t offer working remotely as an option a deal breaker?

• Job security means something different to a parent with a house full of kids than it does to young professionals at the dawn of their careers. There is reason to believe that remote workers are the first to be fired. That’s not a guarantee. Everybody’s circumstances are different, but you may be more vulnerable than your co-workers. Once again, when you work remotely, you’re less visible than in-office employees. Out of sight out, out of mind. Rank your job requirements and see where job security falls in comparison with the benefits you may gain working remotely.

• If you’re uncompromising about working remotely, 16% of U.S. businesses are fully remote. Here is twenty-five of them. Put in the time and effort to learn about companies with full or majority remote workers and see if you discover endeavors perfect for you.

• The pendulum will continue to swing, and the tug-of-war about the future of remote work is likely to continue on different fronts (e.g., the future may be hybrid). This is a fluid situation. Monitor the tea leaves. See which way the wind blows. As always, do your homework. The only way to make informed decisions is to keep yourself informed.

---

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.