2024-09-25 07:48:33
E-commerce giant Amazon recently announced that its employees will have to return to the office five days a week starting in January 2025. Among the main reasons for this decision, its CEO, Andy Jassy, claims that it is It is essential to stay together to maintain the culture of collaborative workfacilitate conflict resolution and promote company growth. But to what extent is he right?
One of our recent studies debunks the reasons given by the company for the forced return to office, eiinvite reflection on alternative formulas to cover your interests.
The results of the research, based on data from experienced teleworkers, show that it is possible to feel very connected and close to fellow teleworkers, despite physical distance. This psychological connection allows remote employees to collaborate as well or better than those who are physically in the same office.
More than being there, feeling close
Most of the The 542 workers interviewed belong to the service sector (56.4%) and large companies (71.6%).. The study follows a previous work, which pursues the hypothesis that collaboration in virtual environments is not conditioned by physical distance, but by psychological distance (feeling close). That is, there’s little point in being physically close in the office if we don’t feel mentally or emotionally connected to each other.
Research on the distant neighbor paradox has shown that software developers softwareeven coming from different countries, they can feel more connected than those who work in the same office. The key lies in the quality of remote communication and the shared identity (age, interests or hobbies) between colleagues.
Furthermore, this recent study proves it “Connected” teleworkers feel happier and improve their emotional well-being. So not only are telecommuters likely to feel more connected from home rather than forcing a full return to the office, they may also feel happier.
In search of virtual collaborative culture
Amazon gets it right when it comes to ensuring its employees are connected and collaborating effectively, but it seems to forget two important things. The first, that effective collaboration is possible in remote or hybrid work environments. Second, the importance of employee experience in business outcomes.
Our study findings pave the way for an alternative to returning to the office through a successful collaborative-virtual culture centered on the employee experience. Could it be that what has failed is the formula of bringing a replica of the office management model into the virtual world?
In the study we also analyzed the use of internal social networks within the company (such as Yammer, Oracle and Slack) and their relationship with the feeling of connection. These social networks, which proliferate among large companies, make it easier for employees to find and follow each other on the networks and this, in light of the results, makes them feel connected.
What according to the Amazon CEO can only be achieved by physically being together in the office seems, once again, not to apply to research teleworkers. Why then do companies insist on filling offices again? Amazon is not the only one: other large companies, such as CitiGroup or Barclays, applied the same measure months ago. Proof of this is the decrease in complete remote job offers on LinkedIn in recent months (from 20% in April 2022 to 8.3% in December 2023).
Advertising like Amazon’s goes against some of the megatrends of the moment: digitalisation, reduction of CO₂ emissions, mental and physical well-being, inclusion and equality. It is true that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to regulating teleworking and that the office competes with other spaces such as the home, libraries and training centers. coworking.
Reactions in networks
One cannot ignore the effect that the massive telecommuting experiment during the Covid-19 pandemic has had on workers’ preferences for the remote option. 46% of talent prefer to opt for remote or hybrid positions. And talent will go where employee needs are best met.
Amazon workers’ reaction to the measure was swift, negative and public. The company’s employees expressed their discontent on LinkedIn. Precisely this public expression on social networks is another of the findings of the recent study, which warns of the dangers of employees’ reactions to their dissatisfaction with working conditions. This worsening of well-being will be reflected in the performance and willingness of its employees to collaborate, exactly the opposite effect that any company seeks.
The history of telecommuting is full of advances and setbacks since its inventor, Jack Niles, coined the term during the oil crisis (1973). Contrasting opinions regarding its benefits and forms of adoption have always been present in the entrepreneurial and academic debate.
The teleworking experiment with the Covid-19 pandemic has reset the knowledge counter. Studies on post-covid teleworking agree on the fact that knowledge of the past cannot be used to design the working scenarios of the future. For this reason, we trust that decisions like Amazon’s are reversible and that its leaders and employees will find an effective formula to align the company’s goals with the needs of its employees.
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