Return to office: what’s this obsession with collaboration

[Lantern12]

More of a rant than anything else, but wondered if others felt the same!

More and more companies seem to be pushing a return to office now (including my own, so I am biased) and the narrative it always the same - mostly that we “collaborate” and build relationships better in person. Is this actually true? Is there any evidence for this?

Some of the strongest relationships I’ve built in my career (clients and colleagues) have been forged over video calls. I find it a lot easier to speak to people 1:1 from a private space than on an open office floor where I feel everyone is overhearing my conversations, and I appreciate the peace and quiet between calls. I also come up with all my best ideas sat quietly thinking about things, never sat in a meeting room with others.

When leaders insist we build relationships and collaborate better in person I think “who are you to tell me how I work best?”. Maybe for them the buzz of an office helps them, but they can’t just insist this is the case for everyone.

Who’s with me on this?!

Im in a strange position that Im working with people I previously worked with in the office 10+ years ago (after working in other teams) so we had already "bonded" however I've also worked in a team where we were based all round the world and they put a lot of effort into regular team catch up calls, we would share holiday photos, know about each others family (we were mostly mums with small children) etc - I don't feel meeting in person would have changed much.

If you have a good team and put the effort in to doing WFH well it can be life changing for everyone.

As others have said if I didnt WFH I would have to go part time, and I would still need to pay for some wrap around child care, I would also take more time off sick as its much easier to just log on than commute and sit in an office unwell.

I worked out recently that I save around 5k a year in childcare and commuting costs by WFH so although I could probably get a better paid role its so convenient for me at the moment the chances of getting a flexible, fully remote role are pretty slim.

I spend most of my time on spreadsheets too, although I find teams messages and calls popping up pretty distracting too.

I'm with you OP but I think it's horses for courses. My own role is entirely more productive being home based. My day in the office is my least productive due to noise, interruptions, having to find a meeting room for confidential conversations. I'm early 50's.

For some roles though, sitting next to a more experienced colleague is vital to skills developement.

Also my new job have said I can go fully remote if I want so if I decide the grass isn’t greener after all I can switch back.

I used to work in senior planning and forecasting role in an open plan office. Twice a year we had to complete a really complex process and it so difficult to concentrate with all the noise and distractions going on in the office, even in a quieter area.
Doing this from home would be so much easier.
This was before COVID and we weren't allowed to work from home because we couldn't be trusted.

@Sparkyhasadram As it wasn't someone that I recognised (I live in same area as DF), they're next hunch was to assume it was someone from work, so presumably looked at other work friends FB pages to see if there was a friend match to cafe person.

I think it depends on your definition of 'back to the office' - we've been 'back' since September 2021, but on a hybrid basis, 2 days in the office per week. There are pros and cons to being at home/in the office, which is why the whole 'bit of both' arrangement works very well for us. Medium sized public sector employer.

I enjoy face to face meetings occasionally, but honestly, if I go into the office, I get barely anything done. So much more productive from home.

I’d hate to go back to office working, but I like to do a day or 2 a week (so I can get lunch from Pret and mooch around the shops 😬).

Some of the strongest relationships I’ve built in my career (clients and colleagues) have been forged over video calls.

Glad that works for you but it doesn't for me. I tolerate remote working when necessary but my brain works much better when I'm in the room with people, when it comes to creative meetings. Online calls are fine for me to receive info or have basic chats, but to have the space and time to do deeper work, which is often better through collaboration, then I'd need to be the room with people.

If people get barely any work done in the office, how did they do their jobs pre-covid? I do think there is still sometimes a novelty factor when the whole team is in the office (my team are rarely all in together), so there can be a lot of catching up etc, but if you're all regularly going in, it should just be come in, quick 'hi, how are you?' and crack on with work?

Yes before Covid I got ill a lot and I know it’s down to commuting. It was a revelation during Covid not have colds and respiratory illnesses both winters.

I don’t ‘interact! with anyone in my office, we have vastly different roles and don’t really speak beyond ‘hello’ and minor pleasantries, my actual team are spread nationwide so we all meet on teams calls.

I am an employer and my staff all work hybrid and I have no plans to change it because it does improve people's work life balance.

That said, we do recognise that WFH days are less productive as it is more difficult to have those quick 2 minute chats about things when someone is WFH. In the office you can just wander over to someone's desk and ask, whereas having to phone up just for a brief question doesn't really happen. It really is more collaborative in person. We just try and arrange it so that people are WFH on things that don't need collaboration or they can work autonomously on. If you need to collaborate with people, it's done in the office, not on Teams.

I totally agree with the PP who sits in the office on Teams calls that she could do at home. My SIL has the same. Her team is mostly based overseas, so the only benefit she gets to going into the office is to see some people that aren't on her team that she can chat to over lunch! In that situation it does seem entirely pointless! They get more work out of her when she's at home too as she doesn't have to rush off at a specific time to get public transport home.

People will argue until the cows come home how which set-up works best for them (which will differ according to who you talk to) but the bottom line is, surely it should be the company that decides how best to operate.
Laughing at the "I've made my strongest relationships over video calls" assertion. Talk about reaching...
Why don't people just admit they want to work from home as they save on train fares, can take the kids to school and hang the washing out during the day? And then get a job that facilitates that.
Btw, do companies still pay London weighting to employees who never set foot in the office?

I hate being in the office. I have to spend 40% of my time in an office when the rest of my team are in different offices around the country so we still hold all our calls over Teams.

It's a pointless drive in. Adding 2 hours commute each day.

I’d hate to go back to office working, but I like to do a day or 2 a week (so I can get lunch from Pret and mooch around the shops 😬).

Same here, I need a couple of days in the office to get into town at lunch time!

But whichever side of the fence you’re on, I wish companies would decide on their working arrangements - and stick to them. Rightly or wrongly, people arrange their lives around their jobs.

I worked from home for 10 years pre covid so I'm well versed in being productive at home.

If anything it is harder now post covid on the rare days I go to the office as so much business is on teams and that is not conducive to open plan working.

I think it's introverts vs extroverts and people should be able to work where they are most effective, productive and have flexibility. Surely nurturing people individually is what is best for the company.

To a degree @Disturbia81 but ultimately as the saying goes "it's not all about you". I find it particularly annoying when in my case the people who are least interested in coming in also seem to think they'll magically be ready for promotion into more senior roles. You need to be capable of carrying yourself around senior stakeholders and representing the company externally - how can I have any confidence in any of that when apparently it's too expensive to pay the train fare stressful to sit in a room with your colleagues?

True, in certain jobs there will be a negative to WFH and employees doing it should be aware of that.

Good point, I'm introverted and find this way I can put all my energy in to customer calls and recharge in between. I do a mixture of customer meetings (mainly online but occasionally in person) and deep work (analysing reports and spreadsheets) so wfh is perfect for my job.

Exactly this. At the end of the day your own opinion of how productive you are at home is irrelevant as it's up to your employer to determine what they think works best for the business overall. If you don't like the in office requirements then get a new job. Personally while I think some of my team may be as productive at home (not more), others definitely are not and I firmly believe teams work better in person and productivity is higher overall when everyone is in the office. I can understand why people would like one or two days at home, it would make my life easier as well despite my views on home working generally but all of that is irrelevant anyway as we are required to be in the office five days a week, without exception.

I'm hoping this yr there will be no complaining about having to come into the office when a collaborative workshop is needed. Christ it's so hard to arrange in person meetings now more than ever cos person a will be like I can't possibly come in due to childcare or person b can't possibly come in they have a delivery coming or person c who has done their 2 days and doesnt want to pay more travel...🙄

At the end of the day your own opinion of how productive you are at home is irrelevant as it's up to your employer to determine what they think works best for the business overall.

This^
Employers have a much wider overview of business needs now and in the future, succession planning etc. it's not about actually what works best at an individual level.

I suspect it is because employers have, over time, become more and more aware that there is a minority of shirkers who are taking the piss and are not pulling their weight.

If the staff are in the office, management can keep an eye on everyone.