ATTENTION MANAGEMENT:
YOUR EMPLOYEES DO NOT WANT TO COME BACK TO THE OFFICE.
YOUR EMPLOYEES
- DO NOT MISS HANGING OUT AT THE WATER COOLER.
- DO NOT MISS THE EXPENSE OF COMMUTING.
- DO NOT MISS THE TIME WASTED COMMUTING.
- DO NOT MISS THEIR DESK / CHAIR / WORKSTATION.
- DO NOT MISS FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH YOU OR THEIR CO-WORKERS.
- DO NOT WANT TO PLACE THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILY, OR THEIR FRIENDS AT RISK OF COVID.
REMEMBER COVID?
YOU THINK COVID IS OVER.
COVID STILL KILLS MORE THAN 1200 PEOPLE A DAY IN THE US. (13 March 2022)
COVID IS NOT OVER.
YOU WANT YOUR EMPLOYEES BACK IN THE OFFICE BECAUSE YOU LIVE A LIE: YOU CLAIM THAT YOUR BUSINESS IS BUILT UPON RESULTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. YOU CLAIM THAT REWARDS, PROMOTIONS, AND SALARIES ARE BASED ON RESULTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT YOU SUCK AS A MANAGER AND ARE UNABLE TO SEE OR MEASURE RESULTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. AND SO YOU RELY UPON AN EMPLOYEE’S PHYSICAL PRESENCE TO JUDGE THEIR CONTRIBUTION AND WORTH.
WHEN THE PANDEMIC STRUCK, YOUR EMPLOYEES WORKED HARD TO LEARN AND ADAPT TO REMOTE WORK. YOU ARE IN BUSINESS TODAY BECAUSE WHEN YOU NEEDED THEM, YOUR EMPLOYEES CAME TOGETHER AND MADE THINGS WORK. IN THE PROCESS THEY DISCOVERED AND ADOPTED MANY SMALL ADVANTAGES AND EFFICIENCIES THAT NOT ONLY KEPT YOUR BUSINESS AFLOAT, BUT WERE GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND GOOD FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES.
YOU THOUGHT THE PANDEMIC WAS A TEMPORARY INTERRUPTION. YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD END AND “THINGS WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL”. YOU WERE WRONG.
THE PANDEMIC IS NOT TEMPORARY. THE PANDEMIC IS PERMANENT CHANGE. YOUR EMPLOYEES TOOK ADVANTAGE OF 20+ YEARS OF TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES TO UPGRADE AND MODERNIZE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND KEEP YOUR BUSINESS ALIVE. THESE WERE NOT TEMPORARY FIXES TO BE SET ASIDE WHEN THE PANDEMIC IS “OVER”.
YOU WANT YOUR EMPLOYEES BACK BECAUSE YOU ARE GREEDY AND UNGRATEFUL: YOUR PROFITS ARE BACK TO “NORMAL”. WHAT YOU REALLY WANT ARE PROFITS THAT ARE LARGER THAN “NORMAL”. YOU WANT YOUR EMPLOYEES TO GIVE UP THE SMALL EFFICIENCIES THAT MAKE THEIR LIVES BETTER AND DENY THEM THEIR SMALL GAINS IN TIME, EFFORT, MONEY, AND PURE ENJOYMENT OF LIFE, ALL TO MAKE MORE MONEY FOR YOU. WORSE: YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN. IT’S ALL BASED ON YOUR ‘FEELINGS’ AND OPINION PIECES IN BUSINESS WEEK.
YOU THINK IT’S ALL ABOUT “THE BOTTOM LINE”. BUT YOU ARE LYING. IF YOU BRING YOUR EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE OFFICE AND THE BOTTOM LINE PLUMMETS, WILL YOU SEND THEM BACK TO WORK FROM HOME?
YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF “THE GREAT RESIGNATION”. EMPLOYEES DID NOT QUIT JOBS WHEN THEY WERE TOLD TO WORK REMOTELY. EMPLOYEES ARE QUITTING JOBS BECAUSE MANAGEMENT WANTS THEM TO COME BACK INTO THE OFFICE.
TO SUMMARIZE: YOUR EMPLOYEES DO NOT WANT TO COME BACK TO THE OFFICE. YOU MAY THINK THAT THEY DO, BUT THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO THE OFFICE, AND YOU ERRONEOUSLY THINK EVERYONE AGREES WITH YOU.
YOUR EMPLOYEES CAME THROUGH FOR YOU AND KEPT YOUR BUSINESS ALIVE, AND EVEN IMPROVED IT. YOU WANT TO THROW OUT THEIR WORK AND YOU WANT THEM TO TAKE AN EFFECTIVE SALARY CUT TO “GO BACK TO NORMAL”.
STOP LYING TO YOURSELF. ACCEPT THE NEW REALITY. RESPECT YOUR EMPLOYEES. LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE RESULTS OF HARD WORK.