Managers who push back against hybrid working are endangering their companies

Irish Times

22-05-2025

The fall of the western Roman empire was a death by a thousand cuts, but one that cut deeper than most was bureaucracy. It fell under the weight of its own stubbornness.
Leadership clung to control from a centralised location (which moved a few times), ignoring the needs of far-flung provinces and the realities of a more complex and fluid world that was emerging. The eastern empire lasted far longer simply because it leaned into acceptance and sought a way to make itself relevant in the world around it.
Ever since pandemic restrictions were lifted, the push to get people back into the office or some form of centralised location have grown louder. Business leaders have called it a threat to the economy and other such terrifying things.
Denis O'Brien
reportedly described remote working as 'nonsense', while JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon ordered staff back to the office, warning younger employees: 'You can't learn working from your basement.'
They're refusing to accept the reality that hybrid or remote operations, facilitated by technology, not only can work but often lead to a more engaged workforce. The bit they are missing out on most however is that pushing to bring people back to the office is denying management itself some fascinating opportunities.
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It begins with a simple question: do you trust your people? If you don't, then you have much bigger things to worry about than where they work. The pandemic proved that executing and collaborating could be done effectively by the overwhelming majority of workers.
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Granted, there are roles that simply can't be remote. Much as my life is reliant on bus and taxi drivers. I'm afraid there's no technology option available for them yet. For that, they have my apologies.
When a manager shows trust in staff, they tend to get liked more. It's not about being the cool boss, it's about being the boss whose staff want to get stuff done for them. The quickest way to turn staff from liking to despising a manager is telling them to change their working circumstances.
Remote work, because it's not just from home, enables so much. It's easier to eat healthier, it's cheaper too. There's no commute to mentally beat up staff and they have more time to rest and exercise as a result. In short, you've got healthier and more motivated staff when they can control their location.
That isn't why managers should rush to rethink the return to the office. There's a far more selfish reason. By not worrying about where staff are, it's far easier for managers to think about what they do.
The room to embrace a far more creative aspect to their roles is present. It's easy to fear change. After all, what becomes of your role when change happens? If you're smart, it gets better and more vital to operations.
Less time is spent, or rather wasted, on performative office management with this approach. Instead, managers get to focus on why they should want to lead in the first place. That involves innovating, providing real mentorship, and being the example your staff wants to follow.
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Hybrid working is not going anywhere
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Leadership is inspiration not instruction. Plenty of executives speak about the sports coaches they claim to influence them. Yet, so often, they miss the key aspect of most successful sports coaches.
Think of Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid or Milan, with whom he won a combined five Champions League trophies. Or perhaps you're more of a Jurgen Klopp fan. Either way, and with countless other examples, these highly successful managers succeeded because they realised their job was to enable those working for them to be the best versions of themselves and finding a way to make that gel.
Resorting to just bringing everyone back to the office shows no innovation. It shows rigidity in the face of an evolving labour market. It's also quite boring, both from the outside and for staff within.
The skills shortage, a routine point this column draws back to, should alarm any manager or business leader who thinks they can simply decree all must return to work without consequence.
The labour market decides what it wants. Right now, a large pool of talent is seeking hybrid or remote options. Companies that lead with such an option immediately expand their opportunities.
Flexibility is breeding innovation in the simplest of ways. Just by offering a hybrid or remote option, a business automatically improves its hiring options. That naturally increases the likelihood the company will grow and succeed. These are the companies that are leaning into reality.
More will follow, mostly out of an inevitable necessity. There will be a domino effect as more companies realise they will find it far easier to access skills if they offer location flexibility to the people with them.
There will, however, be failures. Those who blame the modern world, probably using the word 'entitlement' as though it's an insult. It's not, it's a sign of an individual realising their worth as an asset only willing to work with someone who will invest on their terms. Rome fell, who on earth are you to think that you won't?