Amazon’s return to office mandate has re-ignited the debate surrounding remote work, paid time off, and flexibility in the workplace as a general philosophy to drive employee engagement. In a letter from the CEO, he cites culture as one of the driving forces for the change. Employees disagree.
Different Generations With Different Expectations
Each generation has different needs, based on the societal norms that were in place during childhood as well as their lived experience in the workplace and their current stage of life. Molly Johnson-Jones, co-Founder of Flexa, a job posting platform focused on enhanced filter options that highlight company benefits and greater transparency for candidates, told me in an interview that “Gen Z values work-from-anywhere schemes, while people over 50 prefer part-time work. Those in their thirties are particularly interested in annual leave and creative leave allowances”. In the Harris Poll released in June, Out of Office Culture, 62% of millennials and gen Z’s responded that they would trade a percentage of their salary for additional time off. Clearly, it’s not all about the money – at least not for everyone.
Social Media And Its Influence In The Workplace
Social media has accelerated overall awareness of “standards” for time off across the globe; employee expectations are changing as a result. The quiet vacationing trend started on TikTok and quickly found it’s way to NBC, resulting in more employees clamoring for additional time off – or just taking it anyway. At the other end of the spectrum, the merit of unlimited paid time off continues to be debated. Johnson-Jones expressed her concern that “unlimited PTO may not work effectively, as some employees hesitate to take time off when there are no guidelines around what is generally acceptable behavior”.
The United States still has no mandated paid vacation or sick time and, while most large companies offer at least 2 weeks paid leave, many small businesses do not. There is a tendency to overlook the impact of small businesses on employment practices, however collectively they account for 46.4% of total private sector employees. So, if the trend is for employees to take vacation, regardless of whether or not they are entitled to it, it seems like it’s time to take a close look at how businesses, large and small, evaluate performance and expand their ideas on how work gets done.
Performance Over Presence
Companies that have successful remote or remote-first work arrangements focus on continuous feedback as a critical part of their performance management process. Feedback that is candid, developmental, and most of the time, positive. They set targets that include individual, team, and company-wide goals and then tie compensation and advancement to the achievement of those goals. Employees respond well to clearly articulated targets that are recognized and rewarded within the context of where they work and the type of employer they have. On the whole, employees that are managed through metrics achieve more, and at a faster pace, than those who are not. So if employees can perform at least as well in a remote or hybrid setting so long as they have clear goals, why wouldn’t employers lean into the opportunity to engage with that talent pool?
According to Joe Procopio, in his article for Inc. Magazine, “any company requiring on-site work is limiting its talent pool to its specific physical location(s) [and] there will be at least one other company in cut-throat competition for that same talent.”
The Power Of Strong Company Culture
It seems that, in the end, a strong, clearly articulated, company culture is the secret to success. Johnson-Jones shared that “when we added our culture filters, [such as] ‘autonomous’, ‘good work-life balance’, ‘fast progression,’ 40% of our searches shifted to the culture filters, which is absolutely huge.” As such, she suggested that companies start “to think about what [their] culture is and use that as a way to attract aligned talent.” Transparency is key, she added.
A strong company culture, built on a foundation of strong professional relationships, is certainly harder to build in a remote or hybrid organization. But if work-from-home is here to stay, it also means that that’s where we win.