What Bosses Really Think About Returning to the Office
As we enter the post-work age, many people are reevaluating the need for traditional office jobs. In fact, the trend is so strong that some businesses are having a hard time finding qualified candidates.
In The New York Times, Susanne Kluck reports that many people are finding work in their home offices and even taking the day off. In other news, in the UK, a record-breaking year of more than 2,500 people returned to work after taking the day off.
I asked several experts to explain how people who used to work at home are redefining the office for the 21st century.
1. A “Home Office” is the Best Use of One’s Time
Many people find it easier to spend hours each day doing paperwork than to spend that same time in the office. Home offices enable people to do less physical activity, especially as technology has transformed many people’s ability to connect with their work — all with the same set of tools available at their home.
For many people, working at home has become the best use of their time.
“Many people don’t actually like spending quality time with their families — all the things they spend their time doing at home can be done from the office,” says Bill O’Brien. “But the home office is an opportunity to have more work-life balance, to reduce stress, and to increase one’s work-life effectiveness.”
In her book, Work at Home: How to Retrain Yourself and Find a Work-Life Fit, journalist Kristin Dombrovsky points to an article in Fortune that says, “the average work-life in a home office is 30 hours a week.”
“People are going to find that 30 hours of work a week in the office is not that much time. That’s a lot of time to spend in front of your computer doing what you enjoy doing. Even if you get a little bit of extra time, the hours you spend in front of your computer is not going to be 20 or 30 hours a week. That’s a
