Why Offices Are Not One Size Fits All

“I’ll tell you a secret,” said the VP of Sales who I had just met, “If I didn’t work in an office, I wouldn’t get anything done. I need to be in the office to work.” 

A recent Forbes article observed that, “So, today, while many think of working from home as a modern innovation to promote worker autonomy and flexibility, a different, more historically based perspective is that America’s rigid 9-to-5 schedule—a legacy of the Industrial Revolution—is an artificial construct that needlessly restricts productivity. For those now being thrust into working remotely, that perspective may provide some comfort.”

The global pandemic of 2020 has forced millions of workers who were previously living under the standard commute to in-office model or 9-5 (best case) construct, to instantly adapt to a remote/distributed team model. Quite suddenly we have arrived at this incredible situation, where for millions of knowledge workers —the type of worker most likely to be able to convert to a WFH directive— their daily SOP (standard operating procedure) of work norms has been completely flipped.

So pervasive is the in-office 9-to-5 schedule construct that for some of the many workers thrust into a new, sudden Work From Home (WFH) reality - there seems to be the feeling and fear that at best their ability to be productive has been threatened and at worst, they risk going insane. 

So while it is entirely possible that while the 9-to-5 schedule is an artificial construct that needlessly restricts productivity for some - for others who are better able to adapt to that construct - operating within those guard rails has been how they feel the most comfortable to accomplish their tasks

This is a huge, albeit temporarily indefinite, paradigm shift on many levels, not least of which is that depending on a worker’s personality they may be thriving or struggling with WFH.

Perhaps not surprisingly, social media posts from self-declared extroverts now toiling virtually have been frequent and often focused on the themes of feeling “insane” due to separation from office teammates and the typical work day routine. 

Social media posts have lamented the crazy-making challenges that come with a lack of in-person interaction with teammates and the sudden lack of a practical need for business casual attire. 

We think more specifically, what these posts mean to express is that these traditional norms for the knowledge worker represent routine and stability and without such daily touchpoints, some folks are feeling off-kilter.

So prevalent is this in-office construct, that I do not recall ever seeing social media posts bemoaning the fact that as an introvert, someone feels “insane” because they have to exist in an office space where small talk, office Chatty Cathies and frequent human interaction is a constant reality and an expected (and silently accepted) distraction at best and hardship at worst. 

The heretofore dominant paradigm of commute to in-office work has necessitated that millions of knowledge workers subjugate or overrule their natural rhythms, personal preferences and personalities to work within the traditional in-office system. 

For someone who is more introverted, office life can be constantly uncomfortable and imbibe one with a feeling of being off-kilter as soon as they arrive at the office.  

So while the dominant paradigm will most likely reassert itself in the future, currently we have a great opportunity to acknowledge the in-office model doesn’t work for everyone. 

Just as there are workers who need to “be in the office,” and, “dressed like I am at work,” to feel secure enough to be productive, there are other workers who only need an internet connection and a bathrobe to feel secure enough to be productive. 

The research and data on flexible work arrangements overwhelmingly indicate that companies with the ability to offer such options have a talent acquisition advantage, among a host of other competitive advantages. 

Organizations that understand the reality of different work styles and the nuances of how certain groups of workers best operate are then able to identify where there are opportunities to optimize distributed teams or flexible work arrangements. 

Understanding and planning for the post-industrial reality that one-size office life does not fit all is the first step in securing one of your organization's most critical competitive advantages.