NEW YORK–With many companies making plans to reopen offices this summer and later this year, both the companies themselves and academics are studying how the virtual work arrangements they’ve relied on during the pandemic will factor into their long-term plans — or not.
The New York Times has interviewed three different experts on what has been learned to date and what their discussions and research likely lies ahead. CUToday.info will feature three different views during a four-part series this week.
In the initial installment here, the Times provides an overview of what some companies have already announced, including:
- “Google’s flexible workweek” calls for employees to spend at least three days a week in the office and the rest at home.
- Microsoft’s “hybrid workplace” means most employees can spend up to half their time working remotely.
- Ford Motor’s “flexible hybrid work model” leaves it up to workers and their managers to decide how much time they need to spend in the office.
- Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase don’t have names for their post pandemic policies, because they expect most employees to return to the office for most of the time. Goldman’s CEO, David Solomon called working from home an “aberration,” and JPMorgan’s chief, Jamie Dimon, said it had “serious weaknesses.”
The ‘Appeal’
“But many companies have hatched a post-pandemic plan in which employees return to the office for some of the time while mixing in more work from home than before,” the Times noted. “The appeal of this compromise is clear: Employers hope to give employees the flexibility and focus that come from working at home without sacrificing the in-person connections of the office.”
In the following days, CUToday.info will highlight the Times’ reporting on how to strike that balance.