Is the option of working from home for some employees coming to an end? It depends on who you ask.
“US remote-job postings on LinkedIn reached an all-time high in February 2022, at 20% of all US jobs—yet they attracted over 50% of all applications,” according to LinkedIn. “By September, remote-job posts fell to 14% of all posts, but got 52% of all US applications.”
It is, perhaps, no surprise that most job applicants would prefer to work from home. Despite the obvious lure of days spent in fuzzy pajamas and a short commute time from bedroom to laptop, there are some not-so-selfish reasons that seem justified—such as calculating the high cost of child care or gasoline—things needed for traditional jobs.
A sampling from those vehemently opposed to ending telework included a counselor for the deaf and hard of hearing, employed in the state’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, who was so upset that she would have to show up in person that she declared her intention to leave the state; multiple emails from people afraid of the ongoing spread of COVID-19; multiple emails arguing that telework saves the government on building costs; and a state employee’s spouse, who argued that rescinding telework would mean that they would have to spend more than they could afford to care for their pets.
Some of these protestations are downright offensive to many hard-working Americans, especially for those who have had the backbreaking work of shoveling their cars out of the snow only to be penalized for punching the clock two minutes late or those who have had to choose between their jobs and taking time off for a possibly life-saving medical screening or doctor’s appointment. (And, of course, they needed the job for the health insurance, so they were in a Catch-22.)
And yet, because I myself have questioned the logic of an 8-to-5 workaday world—squeezed into cubicles and overseen by an omniscient, whip-snapping lion tamer—I know we can’t stand in the way of progress. There must be a better way, at least for some of the workforce.
Iger follows Elon Musk’s earlier directives at Tesla and Twitter, and Tim Cook at Apple had to tread lightly just to get his employees into a hybrid schedule without triggering an all-out rebellion.
Meanwhile, in the real world of health care, transportation, utilities, construction, retail, and restaurants, many people have never had the option of hybrid work. By today’s standards, they all deserve a raise just for showing up.