The e-commerce giant Amazon has recently announced that its employees will have to return to the office five days a week from January 2025. Among the main reasons for this decision, its CEO Andy Jassy argues that it Staying together is key to maintaining a collaborative work cultureFacilitating conflict resolution and promoting company growth. But how far is that right?
One of our recent studies breaks down the reasons companies allege for a forced return to the office, E.I.Invites reflection on alternative sources To cover your interests.
Research results based on data from experienced teleworkers show that despite the physical distance, it is possible to feel very connected and close to teleworking colleagues. This psychological connection allows remote employees to collaborate as well or better than those who are physically in the same office.
The feeling of being closer than being
most of The 542 employees surveyed belonged to the services sector (56.4%) and large companies (71.6%).. This study follows from previous work that hypothesized that collaboration in virtual environments is facilitated not by physical distance, but by psychological distance (feeling close). That is, there is no point in being physically close in the office if we don’t feel mentally or emotionally connected to each other.
Research on the far-near paradox has shown that software developers softwareEven people from different countries can feel more connected than those working in the same office. The key is in the quality of remote communication and the shared identity (age, interests or hobbies) between colleagues.
Furthermore, this recent study shows that “Connected” teleworkers feel happier and their emotional well-being improves.So, teleworkers are not only likely to feel more connected to home than returning fully to the office, but they may also feel happier.
In search of a virtual collaborative culture
Amazon gets it right when it comes to ensuring its employees are connected and collaborate effectively, but they forget two important aspects. First, effective collaboration is possible in a remote or hybrid work environment. Second, the importance of employee experience to your business results,
EU accessibility act introduced? It will be expensive!The results of our study open the way for an alternative to returning to the office through a successful collaborative-virtual culture that focuses on the employee experience. Could it be that the formula for replicating the office management model in the virtual world has failed?
In the study we also analyzed the use of internal company social networks (such as Yammer, Oracle and Slack) and their relationship with the feeling of connection. These social networks, which are spread among large companies, make it easy for employees to find and follow each other on the network, and this, in light of the results, makes them feel connected.
What the Amazon CEO believes can only be achieved by being physically together in the office, again, does not apply among teleworkers in the research. Why then do companies insist on filling the office again? Amazon is not alone: other large companies such as Citigroup or Barclays also implemented the same measure months ago. Proof of this is the decrease in overall remote job offers on LinkedIn in recent months (from 20% in April 2022 to 8.3% in December 2023).
Ads like Amazon’s actually go against some of the big trends of the moment: digitalization, reduction of CO₂ emissions, mental and physical well-being, and inclusion and equality. It is true that there is no single approach to regulating teleworking and that the office competes with other spaces such as home, libraries and training centers. Colleague,
Reactions in the network
The impact that widespread telecommuting during the COVID-19 pandemic has had on workers’ preferences for remote options cannot be overlooked. 46% of talent prefer to choose remote or hybrid positions. And talent will go where employees’ needs are best met.
The reaction from Amazon workers to the measure has been quick, negative, and public. The company’s employees have expressed their dissatisfaction on LinkedIn. Precisely, this public expression on the social network is one of the findings of a recent study that warns about the dangers of employees’ reactions to dissatisfaction with working conditions. This deterioration in well-being will have an impact on the performance and willingness to collaborate of its employees, which would be exactly the opposite effect any company wants.
The history of teleworking is full of progress and setbacks since its inventor Jack Niles coined the term during the oil crisis (1973). Contradictory views regarding its benefits and adoption methods have always existed in business and academic debates.
The telecommuting experiment with the COVID-19 pandemic has set the knowledge counter to zero. Post-COVID teleworking studies agree that the knowledge of the past cannot be used to design future work scenarios. For this reason, let us trust that decisions like Amazon’s are reversible and that its leaders and employees find an effective formula to align the company’s objectives with the needs of its employees.
Product worker: planning and implementing major releases
