The Office/Giphy
Technology has made it easier than ever for teams to work on a common project from different locations. Adding in the pandemic shutdowns meant that remote work became a seemingly permanent solution for employees in a variety of industries.
While there are some undeniable benefits (skipping rush-hour traffic every day comes to mind), some workers are discovering that there are some not-so-obvious downsides.
Out of the loop
Bosses get a bad rap, but an effective manager can help put a young and inexperienced worker on the path to great future success. Working from home, however, means that employees don’t receive the individualized feedback that they would if everyone were working in the same location.
Economist Emma Harrington has taken on the task of determining how junior tech engineers responded to remote work. Although such an arrangement is associated with increased productivity, it also leads to a higher turnover rate.
The employees — particularly females — cited a lack of feedback as a primary reason for dissatisfaction.
She explained: “We find a now-versus-later trade-off associated with remote work. Particularly for junior engineers who are new to this particular firm, and younger engineers, they receive less feedback from their senior colleagues when they’re remote.”
Reversing the trend
A number of big companies are requiring employees to return to the office — and some workers are more than willing to comply.
Take Erika Becker, for example. She’s a 28-year-old sales development manager who left her previous work-from-home gig at Yelp to take an in-office position at another firm. Instead of speaking to a supervisor just once per day, she now receives helpful feedback and advice from those nearby throughout her shift.
“It’s like if there’s something in my teeth, I want you to tell me because I want to move up in my career,” she said.
