Commentary: Amid return-to-office mandates, has hybrid work not lived up to its hype?

Even employees will acknowledge that time in the office has many benefits – and the research backs it up. It increases opportunities for interactions (particularly unplanned ones, the serendipitous corridor chats and watercooler moments) which boost social connections and build trust. It provides more opportunities to reduce misunderstandings and resolve conflicts, and increases exposure to the organisation’s culture which increases the speed and extent to which new people are socialised and integrated.

However, it is equally true that such policies come at a cost of sense of autonomy and control – long recognised as critical elements of good job design, incur greater costs in terms of commuting time and in some cases relocations, and constrain employee choices with respect to work-life balance.

But leaders like Amazon’s Jassy neglect this nuance and offer a glimpse into their mindset – that things were just better the way they used to be – with such unhelpful arguments like: “Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week, and that will also be true moving forward”.

It’s a tone-deaf attempt to convince employees that there isn’t a better way of working. Would it not also be equally fair to say: “During the pandemic, it was a given that folks could work remotely full time …” as the basis for the opposite policy?

Work norms are constantly changing (remember that many in Singapore worked 5.5 days a week before the early 2000s). That is a good thing – it means we are learning.