https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/17/work-from-home-office-mandate
Companies are facing backlash after telling staff to cut back on working from home. That’s a good way to alienate talent
It’s easy to quantify the upsides, hard to quantify the downsides.
Working from home has very tangible advantages. Among them: more flexibility, more time around loved ones, better control over one’s hours, improved mental health, lower commute costs, less of a carbon footprint. And – what we found during the pandemic – is that even when employees are working from home, their jobs get done. Of course working in the office has its upsides: It improves culture, fosters innovation and provides mentorship. But – same as working from home – the job also gets done. The problem is that no one can specifically quantify which arrangement works better. Because proving this difference is difficult, making the case for mandating employees to commute to the office is a harder sell.