Employers’ next steps could redefine how and where people work, predicts Laura Boudreau, a Columbia University assistant economics professor who studies workplace issues.
But the concept of"water cooler innovation” may be overblown, says Christy Lake, chief people officer for business software maker Twilio. Nearly two-thirds of the more than 200 companies responding to a mid-July survey in the tech-centric Bay said they are expecting their workers to come into the office two or three days each week. Before the pandemic, 70% of these employers required their workers to be in the office, according to the Bay Area Council, a business policy group that commissioned the poll.
The only reason to have an office, he says, is to satisfy managers with vested interests in grouping people together"so that they can look at them and feel good about the people that they own... so that they can enjoy that power.” Camaraderie and the need to separate work from home are among the top reasons employees at business software maker Adobe Software cite for coming back to the office, said Gloria Chen, chief people officer for one of Silicon Valley’s older companies. Working from home"is here to stay, but we also continue to value people coming together,” she said.