Jessica Kriegel, chief strategy officer at Culture Partners, and Stephan Meier, a professor at Columbia Business School, explore the shifting landscape of work post-pandemic. They discuss how return-to-office mandates may reflect deeper issues of trust and control. The conversation dives into Amazon's policy changes and contrasts industry approaches, revealing a growing preference for hybrid models. With a humorous touch, they examine the complexities of collaboration in different work environments and challenge the assumption that a return to the office is always beneficial.
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insights INSIGHT
Return-to-Office Layoffs?
Many believe return-to-office mandates are disguised layoffs.
Jassy denies this, citing culture and collaboration.
insights INSIGHT
War for Return to Office
The rhetoric around return-to-office has changed, despite stable remote work numbers.
This "war for return to office" sees leaders pushing for return while many employees resist.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Amazon's On-Site Workforce
Amazon's large fulfillment and delivery workforce has already been on-site.
Companies with attractive brands, like Disney, have leverage in mandating returns.
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Today, we’re talking about work. Specifically, where we work, how our expectations of working remotely were radically changed by the pandemic, and how those expectations feel like they’re on the verge of changing yet again. For many people, the pendulum has swung wildly between working fully remote and now a push to return to the office from their bosses, and there are a lot of theories about what might really be motivating big companies to try and bring everyone back.
To explain it, I caught up with two experts on the subject: Stephan Meier, a professor of business strategy at Columbia Business School, and Jessica Kriegel, the chief strategy officer at workplace culture consultancy Culture Partners. We dive into what’s been happening to the nature of work today, and whether Amazon, which just announced a major return to the office five days a week, is part of a bigger trend.
Links:
Amazon is making its employees come back to the office five days a week | The Verge
Amazon CEO denies 5-day office mandate is a ‘backdoor layoff’ | CNBC
Bob Iger tells Disney employees they must return to the office four days a week | CNBC
A quarter of bosses admit return-to-office mandates meant to make staff quit | Fortune
More Americans now prefer hybrid over fully remote work, survey finds | Axios
Google tells staff: stay productive and we’ll stay flexible | BI
The list of major companies requiring employees to return to the office | BI
Thinking Inside the Box: Why Virtual Meetings Generate Fewer Ideas | Columbia
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn wants you addicted to learning | Decoder
Sundar Pichai on managing Google through the pandemic | Vergecast
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
Decoder with Nilay Patel 