A quick follow-up on my recent newsletter highlighting that fully remote workers are more likely to miss out on promotions and mentoring (see Strategic CSR – Zoom). The article in the url below suggests they are also more likely to be fired:
"Workers logging on from home five days a week were 35% more likely to be laid off in 2023 than their peers who put in office time, according to an analysis of two million white-collar workers conducted by employment data provider Live Data Technologies. The analysis showed 10% of fully remote workers were laid off last year, compared with 7% of those working in an office full time or on a hybrid basis."
The argument is that, because managers have less close relationships with remote workers, it is psychologically easier to fire them:
"Much of the disparity, he says, is that it's simply harder to build attachments to people you don't see face to face."
And, it seems, leaders are becoming more explicit with their employees about the risk they run by not coming into the office, at least some of the time:
"Wayfair, the online home-goods retailer, recently told employees that remote workers would be more likely to be affected in company layoffs. Executives also told staff they believe most workers should be in an office most days."
All the commentary I have seen suggests that, while employees prefer to be remote (and have the agency to choose how often they come into the office), the longer term trends suggest the current set-up will not last, simply because of the consequences of remaining remote:
"Other managerial perceptions could be at play, too, he adds. A Gartner survey in 2021 found that 68% of executives and managers believed in-office workers were higher performers than remote employees."
I have seen reports that CEOs believe most employees will be back at work, five days a week, in about 5 years' time:
"'If you have a person working in finance who's not coming to the office, why wouldn't you hire that same person in India or in the Philippines?' said Christian Ulbrich, chief executive of real-estate company Jones Lang LaSalle, noting that in many cases overseas workers can do the same job for less money."
Take care
David
David Chandler
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Remote Workers Feel Brunt of Layoffs
By Te-Ping Chen
January 30, 2024
The Wall Street Journal
Late Edition – Final
A9
