Pack your briefcase, put your finest shirt on, and prepare yourself for your daily commute… approximately five steps away to the kitchen counter, where you flip open your laptop for your first call.
The “new normal” of working from home may no longer be new—but has definitely solidified itself as normal. In these post-pandemic times, over a third of us who can work from home do! We’ve become accustomed to structuring our day with back-to-back Zoom meetings and expressing our deepest, most sincere emotions with an array of Slackmojis. For many of us youngins, it’s hard to imagine a workforce that’s not remote.
That is, until now (dun, dun, DUN). Just this month, Canada announced that federal workers will now be required to come into the office three times a week. The news brought on some very understandable pushback. Employees took to the streets of downtown Ottawa to protest and express their frustration. Many explained that working from home provided them with a better environment, while leadership claimed returning to the office would enhance “fairness and consistency.”
So, as many of us prepare to say goodbye to our comfy sweatpants and canine or kitten coworkers, we must ask ourselves which is truly the superior workplace, at your home or in the office? Spoiler alert: we’re not telling! That being said, we’ll still review the pros and cons of both—and how you can make the most of whatever your case may be.
Until then, Gabrielle & Charlotte and social butterfly homebodies at TDL
📧 Although we unfortunately cannot mail this newsletter to your workspace, we can still send you a virtual copy here.
Today’s topics 👀
🏡 At-Home
🏢 In-Office
⚖️ Finding Middle Ground
🏡 At-Home
The Pros:
Feeling more productive. Believe it or not, only 7% of employees feel they get their best work done in the office. Instead, working from home can help you “get in the zone,” with fewer interruptions from chatty colleagues and a more comfortable work environment to channel your energy.
Flexible schedules. Who doesn’t love getting to spend mornings with their kids instead of commuting—or for younger employees, getting to expand their travels by embracing a digital nomad lifestyle? And even if you stay local, a walk around the block is a nice addition to a lunch break.
Zoom fatigue is real. Balancing household tasks while being online all day can be absolutely exhausting. This is especially the case when we’re on video calls all day—where the spotlight effect can cause us to be constantly aware of our pixelated appearance (and mistakenly think our colleagues are, too).
Not-so-great for mental health. It’s worth stressing that this is an ongoing conversation—but remote work can leave us feeling isolated. (Turns out, that chatty coworker might actually boost your mood!) Plus, unless you have the perfect ergonomic set-up, your at-home office might take a toll on your body as well.
Compartmentalizing—but in a good way. When working in person, work-related stressors become associated with the office, not your home. This creates both a physical and mental separation between your personal and professional life—a boundary that often blurs when combining the two spaces.
Increased stress. Working in the office can make people feel like they’re constantly being watched or micromanaged, which can undermine their sense of autonomy and confidence. This has led to the rise of “productivity theater,” where employees go out of their way to look busy (rather than zeroing in on the work itself).
Sharing space. Depending on the office layout, in-person work can lead to many distractions—and these can be costly. If the person next to you frequently takes meetings at their desk, you might find yourself unintentionally eavesdropping, pulling your focus away from your own tasks.
⚖️ Finding Middle Ground
As you can probably tell, the research on this topic is incredibly divisive and, at times, contradictory. It is quite literally impossible to say with absolute certainty that at-home is better than in-office or vice versa.
Like most things, finding what works best for you or your business is context-dependent. Markers like productivity are influenced by various factors: job type, company culture, and employee work styles, just to name a few. This might look different for everyone—and that’s okay.
Blending the benefits. When done right, a hybrid schedule makes in-person work more intentional, with teams using the time to collaborate effectively. While in-office days allow colleagues to dissolve communication issues, at-home days permit focused individual work and flexibility.
Hybrid work is the future. According to a survey conducted by EY, 86% of people said they were required or encouraged to be in the office for at least part of the week. While there's a push to get people back in, forcing full-time in-person work could lead to unhappy employees, as most now prefer a hybrid schedule.
Don’t knock it until you try it. It’s not uncommon for leadership to have their reservations about hybrid work. Many worry that innovation will slow down—which, of course, is a valid concern. But remember: we can counter the unique pain points of hybrid collaboration with equally unique solutions.
Take brainstorming, for example. While a traditional setting would require getting everyone in a room to participate, this doesn’t pack the same punch over Zoom. Coming up with a new strategy, like an asynchronous brainstorming session before the meeting, can actually inspire more (and better) ideas.
According to the Pew Research Center, hybrid work is on the rise. Between 2022 and 2023, hybrid work expanded by 6%, while fully remote work dropped by 8%.
Confirmation bias
While reading this newsletter, which argument did you find more compelling?
Whether by consequence or by confirmation bias, you might have given more credit to evidence supporting what is already your personal preference. But don’t worry—this is something we all do, and there is plenty of research on why.
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