One of the most significant trends to have emerged from the Covid pandemic is the widespread implementation of remote working policies. Neoma’s Serge da Motta Veiga explores how these new arrangements are dramatically impacting the business landscape A flexible approach T he world of work has experienced three ‘earthquakes’ in almost as many years. First, the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the phenomenon of the ‘Great Resignation’ and then the emergence of generative artificial
your time in the office, is associated with higher workforce productivity. The researchers based their analysis on a field experiment conducted at the headquarters of BRAC, the world’s largest non-governmental organisation, situated in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. They found that granting employees an intermediate level of remote work resulted in a higher number of emails being sent, as well as a higher number of email recipients, more positive sentiments being expressed in email correspondence and increased innovation. All this suggests that it is indeed possible for well-constructed hybrid work policies to offer ‘the best of both worlds’, giving employees greater flexibility while also preserving social bonds between colleagues. However, there is an alternative perspective to consider. Challenges of managing a remote workforce Many bosses remain sceptical about flexible working policies. A report from career site Resume Builder published in 2023 found that 90 per cent of companies planned to implement return-to-office policies by the end of this year. The majority say they will track employees to ensure attendance and 28 per cent
intelligence. In the aftermath of these seismic shifts, businesses face the challenge of restructuring – and in some cases entirely rebuilding – their operation. Remote working was the only means of survival for many companies during pandemic-induced lockdowns and a large number of employees have since come to appreciate the advantages of having more autonomy over their own schedules. This benefit is combined with the lower costs associated with not having to commute to work five days a week. While this is certainly advantageous from an employee’s perspective, we must contemplate if such flexible working arrangements benefit the corporate sector. A working paper from Harvard Business School, entitled Is Hybrid Work the Best of Both Worlds? by Prithwiraj Choudhury, Tarun Khanna, Christos Makridis and Kyle Schirmann, suggests that yes, they do. The paper reveals that intermediate levels of working from home, spending between 23-40 per cent of
20 | Ambition | JUNE 2024
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