如果未來有一部描述重返辦公室戰(zhàn)場的超級英雄大片,那么反派和英雄應(yīng)該涇渭分明:穿著紫色斗篷的CEO,命令員工重回辦公室,而穿著紅色斗篷的CEO,則允許員工一直居家辦公。
至少,偏好遠程辦公的87%的上班族會這樣認為。在疫情期間,雇主向白領(lǐng)員工夸下海口,允許員工無限期居家辦公,提供健康假期,并承諾創(chuàng)造更多元化和更公平的辦公場所。甚至有些公司給員工提供居家辦公津貼和網(wǎng)費補貼。在上班族眼中,這些福利變成了標配,如果公司達不到他們的預(yù)期,他們馬上就會加入大辭職浪潮。
兩年來,在緊縮的勞動力市場中,每一位上班族有1.7個職位空缺可供選擇,公司面臨招聘難題,因此上班族占據(jù)了上風。員工都希望后疫情時代的職場會有所不同和改善。但今年,事實證明這種希望是基于一些脆弱的承諾,至少在某些公司是這樣。
天平開始向老板傾斜,許多老板批評遠程辦公影響了公司利潤。在經(jīng)歷過一位獵頭所說的“做好人的疲憊”之后,埃隆·馬斯克和馬克·扎克伯格等CEO開始取消員工們念念不忘的福利,此舉讓員工感到意外。美國勞動節(jié)成為一個轉(zhuǎn)折點,蘋果(Apple)和Peloton等公司要求員工重回辦公室辦公:現(xiàn)場辦公的員工數(shù)量達到疫情爆發(fā)以來的最高水平。各種福利逐步被取消;例如賽富時(Salesforce)上周宣布,將取消在疫情期間提供的每個月一次的健康假期。
組織心理學家托馬斯·查莫羅-普雷姆茲克表示,經(jīng)濟衰退近在眼前,因此一些公司的政策將“不再以員工為中心”,這并不令人意外。他對《財富》雜志表示:“如果競爭對手提供更多自由和靈活性,這種做法可能是錯誤的。”
但依舊有許多CEO支持不同的工作模式,就像是電影中的超級英雄們。比如Airbnb的布萊恩·切斯基或Yelpp的杰羅米·斯托普爾曼均執(zhí)行了遠程辦公政策,并承諾不會修改政策,他們認為該政策更有利于公司的文化和員工的工作效率。
經(jīng)過充滿變化的兩年多時間,后疫情時期的CEO文化已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了分歧,有些CEO正在取消福利,而有些CEO卻在繼續(xù)增加福利。你愿意為什么樣的老板工作?
像馬克·扎克伯格一樣關(guān)注公司利潤
7月,扎克伯格在一份備忘錄中警告員工,他將“施加壓力”,清理績效不佳的員工。
扎克伯格表示:“現(xiàn)實情況是,可能有許多人不適合留在這家公司。我希望,通過提高預(yù)期和制定更激進的目標,稍微施加一些壓力,有些人可能認為這家公司并不適合他們,我能接受大家自己的選擇。”
這成為今年許多CEO的口頭禪。面對籠罩在頭上的經(jīng)濟衰退陰影,許多CEO為了盡快恢復(fù)正常運營,取消了許多疫情期間的政策。6月,特斯拉(Tesla)CEO埃隆·馬斯克發(fā)布了一份“冷冰冰的”最后通牒,要求員工每周至少在辦公室辦公40個小時。馬斯克寫道:“不到辦公室的員工,將被認定為已經(jīng)辭職。”馬斯克現(xiàn)在會收到每周缺勤報告。
上個月,為了應(yīng)對通脹,貝萊德(BlackRock)CEO拉里·芬克要求員工每周在辦公室辦公三天,并表示公司將“在恢復(fù)現(xiàn)場辦公的問題上采取更強硬的立場”。
要求員工必須重回辦公室,只是CEO們嘗試恢復(fù)舊辦公模式的途徑之一。精神健康數(shù)字平臺Headspace Health調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),大部分員工(71%)表示,在疫情爆發(fā)之后,公司更加重視他們的精神健康。但今年這個比例只有四分之一。
在2020年,為了反對系統(tǒng)性和社會性種族歧視,許多公司作出許多承諾,加大了推動多元化、包容和公平的力度。但這些工作幾乎毫無進展,主要是由于公司無法執(zhí)行支持更多元化辦公場所的DEI結(jié)構(gòu)。軟件公司Culture Amp的2022年報告發(fā)現(xiàn),只有34%的公司擁有足夠多的資源支持DEI倡議,只有49%的公司制定了戰(zhàn)略性多元化計劃。
像布萊恩·切斯基一樣關(guān)注人才
有些CEO希望恢復(fù)到舊經(jīng)營模式,但有人卻著眼于未來。經(jīng)過所謂的“公司史上效率最高的兩年”之后,Airbnb CEO布萊恩·切斯基在5月將居家辦公作為一項永久政策。他今年還發(fā)布了其他福利,例如統(tǒng)一薪酬等級標準,員工的薪酬水平將基于所從事的崗位,而不是地點,并且員工可以在170多個國家在每個地方工作不超過三個月。
Future Forum執(zhí)行主管布萊恩·艾略特告訴《財富》雜志:“布萊恩的收獲與Slack的著眼點一樣,那就是人才。現(xiàn)在公司之間的競爭關(guān)鍵在于吸引和留住優(yōu)秀人才的能力,使他們能夠?qū)W⒂趯崿F(xiàn)公司的目標。而靈活性是一個重要工具。”
Future Forum的季度Pulse調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),靈活性是促使人們跳槽的最主要原因之一,僅次于薪酬。艾略特認為切斯基是一個很好的例子,他采取了數(shù)字優(yōu)先的策略,允許員工遠程辦公,同時會定期安排集會的時間。
杰羅米·斯托普爾曼也是如此。他認為混合辦公是“地獄”,于是今年他正式執(zhí)行了完全遠程辦公政策。Spotify執(zhí)行“遠程辦公”計劃一年后,首席人力資源官卡特里娜·伯格告訴《財富》雜志,該政策減少了人才流失,增加了公司的多元化。
艾略特表示:“更靈活的公司不僅能吸引和留住優(yōu)秀人才,其表現(xiàn)可能優(yōu)于競爭對手。”
關(guān)鍵是信任和透明
現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)的CEO文化分歧并不是非黑即白。如果你不認同老板的做法,你很容易將要求你重回辦公室的老板描繪成反派。
查莫羅-普雷姆茲克表示,老板對待人才的方式不同,并不意味著他們是錯誤的。他解釋稱:“每家公司有不同的文化,并不是只有一種成功的文化。重要的是公司對其文化主張要坦誠,使有選擇的員工可以做出最好的選擇。”他將公司文化與國家文化進行對比:“丹麥和美國都很成功,但丹麥人并不想成為美國人,反之亦然。”
Future Forum發(fā)現(xiàn),認為公司領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者不透明的上班族,表示自己一定會離職的可能性高3.4倍。艾略特表示,CEO們面臨的風險是“缺乏靈活性和透明度,導(dǎo)致至少有其他選擇的員工會另尋出路。”
Spotify的伯格對《財富》雜志表示,嚴格的現(xiàn)場辦公規(guī)定意味著雇主與員工之間缺乏信任,這可能表明公司文化存在缺陷。 “如果你決定信任員工,而且你用很長時間才網(wǎng)羅到優(yōu)秀人才,你希望給他們好的待遇,他們也愿意一直支持你,那么在哪里辦公并不重要。”
但遠程辦公之爭可能只是一個巨大的誤解 —— 它并不是權(quán)力之爭,而是代表了人們對疫情之后最適合公司和員工的發(fā)展模式的不同觀點。艾略特表示,CEO們必須決定打算堅持舊經(jīng)營模式,還是著眼于未來:是按照2010年代的方式重建職場,還是接受我們在過去兩年執(zhí)行的更靈活的辦公模式。
最后,遠程辦公之爭并不是要將CEO分出好壞,而是希望公司高管們能夠推廣一種基于信任和透明的工作文化。(財富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
如果未來有一部描述重返辦公室戰(zhàn)場的超級英雄大片,那么反派和英雄應(yīng)該涇渭分明:穿著紫色斗篷的CEO,命令員工重回辦公室,而穿著紅色斗篷的CEO,則允許員工一直居家辦公。
至少,偏好遠程辦公的87%的上班族會這樣認為。在疫情期間,雇主向白領(lǐng)員工夸下海口,允許員工無限期居家辦公,提供健康假期,并承諾創(chuàng)造更多元化和更公平的辦公場所。甚至有些公司給員工提供居家辦公津貼和網(wǎng)費補貼。在上班族眼中,這些福利變成了標配,如果公司達不到他們的預(yù)期,他們馬上就會加入大辭職浪潮。
兩年來,在緊縮的勞動力市場中,每一位上班族有1.7個職位空缺可供選擇,公司面臨招聘難題,因此上班族占據(jù)了上風。員工都希望后疫情時代的職場會有所不同和改善。但今年,事實證明這種希望是基于一些脆弱的承諾,至少在某些公司是這樣。
天平開始向老板傾斜,許多老板批評遠程辦公影響了公司利潤。在經(jīng)歷過一位獵頭所說的“做好人的疲憊”之后,埃隆·馬斯克和馬克·扎克伯格等CEO開始取消員工們念念不忘的福利,此舉讓員工感到意外。美國勞動節(jié)成為一個轉(zhuǎn)折點,蘋果(Apple)和Peloton等公司要求員工重回辦公室辦公:現(xiàn)場辦公的員工數(shù)量達到疫情爆發(fā)以來的最高水平。各種福利逐步被取消;例如賽富時(Salesforce)上周宣布,將取消在疫情期間提供的每個月一次的健康假期。
組織心理學家托馬斯·查莫羅-普雷姆茲克表示,經(jīng)濟衰退近在眼前,因此一些公司的政策將“不再以員工為中心”,這并不令人意外。他對《財富》雜志表示:“如果競爭對手提供更多自由和靈活性,這種做法可能是錯誤的。”
但依舊有許多CEO支持不同的工作模式,就像是電影中的超級英雄們。比如Airbnb的布萊恩·切斯基或Yelpp的杰羅米·斯托普爾曼均執(zhí)行了遠程辦公政策,并承諾不會修改政策,他們認為該政策更有利于公司的文化和員工的工作效率。
經(jīng)過充滿變化的兩年多時間,后疫情時期的CEO文化已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了分歧,有些CEO正在取消福利,而有些CEO卻在繼續(xù)增加福利。你愿意為什么樣的老板工作?
像馬克·扎克伯格一樣關(guān)注公司利潤
7月,扎克伯格在一份備忘錄中警告員工,他將“施加壓力”,清理績效不佳的員工。
扎克伯格表示:“現(xiàn)實情況是,可能有許多人不適合留在這家公司。我希望,通過提高預(yù)期和制定更激進的目標,稍微施加一些壓力,有些人可能認為這家公司并不適合他們,我能接受大家自己的選擇。”
這成為今年許多CEO的口頭禪。面對籠罩在頭上的經(jīng)濟衰退陰影,許多CEO為了盡快恢復(fù)正常運營,取消了許多疫情期間的政策。6月,特斯拉(Tesla)CEO埃隆·馬斯克發(fā)布了一份“冷冰冰的”最后通牒,要求員工每周至少在辦公室辦公40個小時。馬斯克寫道:“不到辦公室的員工,將被認定為已經(jīng)辭職。”馬斯克現(xiàn)在會收到每周缺勤報告。
上個月,為了應(yīng)對通脹,貝萊德(BlackRock)CEO拉里·芬克要求員工每周在辦公室辦公三天,并表示公司將“在恢復(fù)現(xiàn)場辦公的問題上采取更強硬的立場”。
要求員工必須重回辦公室,只是CEO們嘗試恢復(fù)舊辦公模式的途徑之一。精神健康數(shù)字平臺Headspace Health調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),大部分員工(71%)表示,在疫情爆發(fā)之后,公司更加重視他們的精神健康。但今年這個比例只有四分之一。
在2020年,為了反對系統(tǒng)性和社會性種族歧視,許多公司作出許多承諾,加大了推動多元化、包容和公平的力度。但這些工作幾乎毫無進展,主要是由于公司無法執(zhí)行支持更多元化辦公場所的DEI結(jié)構(gòu)。軟件公司Culture Amp的2022年報告發(fā)現(xiàn),只有34%的公司擁有足夠多的資源支持DEI倡議,只有49%的公司制定了戰(zhàn)略性多元化計劃。
像布萊恩·切斯基一樣關(guān)注人才
有些CEO希望恢復(fù)到舊經(jīng)營模式,但有人卻著眼于未來。經(jīng)過所謂的“公司史上效率最高的兩年”之后,Airbnb CEO布萊恩·切斯基在5月將居家辦公作為一項永久政策。他今年還發(fā)布了其他福利,例如統(tǒng)一薪酬等級標準,員工的薪酬水平將基于所從事的崗位,而不是地點,并且員工可以在170多個國家在每個地方工作不超過三個月。
Future Forum執(zhí)行主管布萊恩·艾略特告訴《財富》雜志:“布萊恩的收獲與Slack的著眼點一樣,那就是人才。現(xiàn)在公司之間的競爭關(guān)鍵在于吸引和留住優(yōu)秀人才的能力,使他們能夠?qū)W⒂趯崿F(xiàn)公司的目標。而靈活性是一個重要工具。”
Future Forum的季度Pulse調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),靈活性是促使人們跳槽的最主要原因之一,僅次于薪酬。艾略特認為切斯基是一個很好的例子,他采取了數(shù)字優(yōu)先的策略,允許員工遠程辦公,同時會定期安排集會的時間。
杰羅米·斯托普爾曼也是如此。他認為混合辦公是“地獄”,于是今年他正式執(zhí)行了完全遠程辦公政策。Spotify執(zhí)行“遠程辦公”計劃一年后,首席人力資源官卡特里娜·伯格告訴《財富》雜志,該政策減少了人才流失,增加了公司的多元化。
艾略特表示:“更靈活的公司不僅能吸引和留住優(yōu)秀人才,其表現(xiàn)可能優(yōu)于競爭對手。”
關(guān)鍵是信任和透明
現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)的CEO文化分歧并不是非黑即白。如果你不認同老板的做法,你很容易將要求你重回辦公室的老板描繪成反派。
查莫羅-普雷姆茲克表示,老板對待人才的方式不同,并不意味著他們是錯誤的。他解釋稱:“每家公司有不同的文化,并不是只有一種成功的文化。重要的是公司對其文化主張要坦誠,使有選擇的員工可以做出最好的選擇。”他將公司文化與國家文化進行對比:“丹麥和美國都很成功,但丹麥人并不想成為美國人,反之亦然。”
Future Forum發(fā)現(xiàn),認為公司領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者不透明的上班族,表示自己一定會離職的可能性高3.4倍。艾略特表示,CEO們面臨的風險是“缺乏靈活性和透明度,導(dǎo)致至少有其他選擇的員工會另尋出路。”
Spotify的伯格對《財富》雜志表示,嚴格的現(xiàn)場辦公規(guī)定意味著雇主與員工之間缺乏信任,這可能表明公司文化存在缺陷。 “如果你決定信任員工,而且你用很長時間才網(wǎng)羅到優(yōu)秀人才,你希望給他們好的待遇,他們也愿意一直支持你,那么在哪里辦公并不重要。”
但遠程辦公之爭可能只是一個巨大的誤解 —— 它并不是權(quán)力之爭,而是代表了人們對疫情之后最適合公司和員工的發(fā)展模式的不同觀點。艾略特表示,CEO們必須決定打算堅持舊經(jīng)營模式,還是著眼于未來:是按照2010年代的方式重建職場,還是接受我們在過去兩年執(zhí)行的更靈活的辦公模式。
最后,遠程辦公之爭并不是要將CEO分出好壞,而是希望公司高管們能夠推廣一種基于信任和透明的工作文化。(財富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
If the next blockbuster superhero movie centered around the return-to-office battle, then the villain and the hero are painstakingly obvious: The CEO ordering workers back to office wears the purple cape, and the CEO allowing employees to work from home forever dons the red one.
At least, that’s likely how the 87% of workers who take advantage of remote work see it. Many employers gave their white-collar workforce the moon during the pandemic, allowing them to work from home indefinitely, providing wellness days, and promising to create a more diverse and equitable workplace. Some even enjoyed home office stipends and comped internet. Such perks became the norm for workers, who were quick to join the Great Resignation if their company wasn’t meeting their expectations.
For two years, it’s been a worker’s world as companies scrambled to hire in a tight labor market where there are 1.7 job openings for every worker. It made employees hopeful that the post-pandemic workplace would emerge different and improved. But this year is proving that hope was built on a flimsy foundation of promises—at least at some companies.
The upper hand is beginning to shift back to bosses, with many blaming remote work for hurting their bottom line. Experiencing what one headhunter called “do-gooder fatigue,” CEOs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg began rolling back the perks in stern staff memos, leaving workers in a state of whiplash. Labor Day proved to be a turning point when companies like Apple and Peloton called workers back to their cubicles (again): More workers were in office than they have been since the pandemic started. Then, the benefits started disappearing; Salesforce, for example, announced last week it was ending the once-a-month well-being holidays it offered during COVID.
It’s not surprising that some companies will become “l(fā)ess employee-centric” in their policies as a recession looms, says organizational psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. But “this could end up being a mistake if their competitors are still offering more freedom and flexibility,” he tells Fortune.
But there are still a few hero CEOS out there, championing for a different future of work. Just look at Airbnb’s Brian Chesky or Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppelman, who have implemented remote work policies and promised not to change them, arguing that it’s better for company culture and worker productivity.
After all the changes of the past two-plus years, what has emerged is a post-pandemic CEO culture split, in which some executives are withdrawing perks and others are doubling down. Which boss do you work for?
The Mark Zuckerbergs of the world focus on the bottom line
In July, Zuckerberg warned staff in a memo that he would be “turning up the heat” to weed out underperformers.
“Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here,” Zuckerberg said. “Part of my hope, by raising expectations and having more aggressive goals, and just kind of turning up the heat a little bit, is that I think some of you might decide that this place isn’t for you, and that self-selection is OK with me.”
It’s been the mantra among many CEOs this year, who put their foot down on many pandemic-era policies in a push to get back to business as usual as a recession looms. In June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk ordered workers to spend a minimum of 40 hours a week in the office in a “tone-deaf” ultimatum. “If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned,” wrote Musk, who now receives weekly absentee reports.
Last month, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink mandated that workers be in the office three days a week as a solution to inflation, noting that the firm would “be taking a harder line as to how we bring our employees back.”
Insisting workers return to office is just one way some CEOs are trying to make the future of work look a lot like the past. The majority of workers (71%) said their companies increased the focus on mental health in the wake of the pandemic, a survey by digital mental health platform Headspace Health found. But only a quarter say employers have maintained that focus this year.
And then there are the many promises that companies made in 2020 to fight systemic and societal racism by amping up their diversity, inclusion, and equality efforts. But such efforts are moving at a glacial pace, largely because companies are failing to implement DEI structures that support a more diverse workplace. A 2022 report by software company Culture Amp found that only 34% of companies have enough resources to support DEI initiatives and only 49% have a strategic diversity plan in place.
The Brian Cheskys of the world focus on talent
While some CEOs want to get back to the old way of doing things, others are looking forward. Following what he called “the most productive two-year period in our history,” Airbnb’s Brian Chesky made work-from-home permanent back in May. He rolled out other perks this year as well, such as single pay tiers that base salary on role over location and the ability to work in more than 170 countries for up to three months a year in each location.
“What Brian gets is what Slack has seen…which is: It’s all about talent,” Brian Elliott, executive leader of Future Forum, tells Fortune. “Competition these days in business is about your ability to attract and retain talented people to have them focused on driving results for your business. And flexibility is a key tool for driving that.”
Future Forum’s quarterly Pulse survey found that flexibility is one of the top reasons, only second to compensation, motivating people to look for a new job. Elliott cited Chesky as a good example of a CEO who’s taking a digital first approach, allowing people to work remotely while still making time for people to come together periodically.
So, too, is Jeremy Stoppelman, who implemented a fully remote policy for Yelp officially this year after deeming hybrid work “hell.” And a year after Spotify implemented its “Work from Anywhere” program, chief human resources officer Katrina Berg told?Fortune it resulted in a lower turnover and increased diverse representation.
“The organizations that are actually being more flexible with their workforce will not only attract and retain great talent, they will actually outperform their competitors,” argues Elliott.
It’s all about trust and transparency
Now, the CEO culture split that has emerged isn’t so black and white. Painting the boss who wants you back in office as the bad guy is an easy narrative when you disagree with their stance.
Just because their talent approach is different doesn’t mean it’s wrong, Chamorro-Premuzic says. “Every company has a culture, and there is no such thing as one single successful culture. What’s important is that companies are honest about their cultural proposition, so the employees who have choices can make the best choice,” he explains, likening it to national culture: “Denmark and the U.S. are very successful, but the average Dane would not like to be American and vice-versa.”
People who don’t believe their leadership is being transparent with them are 3.4 times more likely to say that they’re definitely leaving the organization, Future Forum finds. The risk that CEOs run is that “l(fā)ack of flexibility, that lack of transparency, causes people—at least those who do have a choice—to look elsewhere,” Elliott says.
Strict office attendance requirements indicate a lack of trust, which may be a sign of a flawed culture, Spotify’s Berg told?Fortune. “If you decide that you trust your people, and you took a long time to find them, and you want to treat them well, and they want to be with you, it doesn’t matter where they work.”
But, then again, the remote work wars may be just one giant misunderstanding—less of a power struggle and more about differing opinions on the best approach for both companies and workers as we emerge from the pandemic. CEOs must decide whether they want to live in the past or move into the future: rebuilding a workplace the way it was run in the 2010s or pushing things forward and embracing the more flexible approach we’ve seen over the past two years, Elliott says.
Ultimately, it’s less about the good CEO versus the bad CEO, and more about executives promoting a work culture built on trust and transparency.