Why US Employers and Employees Are At War With Each Other
US employers are going head to head with one another at startling rates over contentions relating to an overarching reason.
At the beginning of the pandemic, most employers sent their workers home. Employees who had the privilege of working remotely kept up their standard hours while enduring the confusing and frustrating experience of quarantine. While many worked through extreme conditions remotely, the evidence of work-from-home productivity was unequivocally evident. Though many have proved they can work remotely, some employers and employees still disagree on returning to the office in 2022.
Certain employers, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have made public, stubborn statements about needing their workers to return to in-person work. Though one could look to comradery and morale as a bonus to operating inside an office space, 2022’s myriad of issues has compounded to make remote working more accessible and cost-efficient. With rising gas and transportation prices and the present threat of COVID infection, working from home is more sensible holistically. Still, employers and employees at specific companies are fighting about the work-from-home issue.
Earlier in 2022, a survey came out that interviewed people with office jobs. 61% said they were opting out of returning to their workplaces. Though employees and employers may disagree on remote working, the evidence shows that people can work from home, even throughout a widely concerning and dangerous epidemic. Workers who’ve been at home while still completing their assigned tasks should be allowed options, whether a flexible in-person schedule, a traveling stipend, or working remotely entirely.
Many employers and employees now disagree about the validity of in-person office jobs. As many are persuaded to return to the workplace, reasons for remote working are more evident and pragmatic. Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and director of human resources at Engage PEO, stated that when employees get to the office in 2022 and there “isn’t anyone else there,” they might be wondering, “what’s the point” in pushing people back to the office. For people who have now experienced at-home working environments, operating in an office setting can feel increasingly less practical.
Workers are also starting to notice problems in in-person working pre-pandemic that are now being analyzed. For many people with young kids or grandparents in the home, expenses like daycare or elder care were not an option. Now, employees have the leverage to ask their employers to pay for needed care that will allow them to operate in an office again. Employers and employees must understand the current economic environment and realize that things have drastically changed since COVID’s inception. If employers can’t find substantial and realistic evidence that employees returning to the office will be better for them and the company, then working remotely will have to suffice.
Though many employers and employees have bickered or disagreed about workplace mandates, some CEOs take in-person working far more seriously. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, recently sent a strongly worded email about the company’s new remote working policy. Musk stated that employees should work in person for 40 hours or leave the company immediately. Though other employers haven’t taken a severe approach, this type of policy may become more common.
Though workers have been shown to fulfill their necessary tasks remotely, employers and employees are still debating about returning to work. However, it may take some time for executives to eliminate at-home working policies altogether.
