Why the WFH divide is ridiculous

And 6 ways to make everyone happy

I mean, I get that not everyone feels the same about working from home. Some people are thrilled they’ve been given their commuting hours back and other people are feeling sad they don’t get office interactions anymore. Plus a couple of other arguments to do with money, creativity and how nice/small your flat/house is.

But surely this extreme ‘either/or’ attitude was the exact problem in the first case — companies didn’t give people the option to work at home so made half the population unhappy. So why on earth would the solution to this be to make everyone work at home and make the other half unhappy??

There are so many options for a middle ground that would accommodate both sides of the debate. So why is no one talking about them? Here are 6 solutions to crush the argument in it’s tracks and show people that we don’t have to butt heads, there is space for everyone to get what they want.

Companies pay for a local hub

Every local town or large village (cities already have plenty of co-working spaces) invests in opening a ‘local hub’ for people from the area who want to work in an office. Every company takes the budget they would normally plough into renting one big office that everyone commutes to and reallocates it to pay for desk space in these local hubs for those that want them. Cheaper for the company (I would imagine) and supports the local economy outside of cities. Plus, who knows, maybe these will become so successful that Pret can reopen up near the hubs and people will start buying their lunches from them again, thus saving the economy in one fell swoop. It’s a win for everyone.

The rise of the professional live/work accommodation

Mainly for the younger anti-WFH ones, as lots of the leading providers (like Tipi) are being advertised as hipster communes. Probs not for anyone over 30. Nevertheless, it’s a great solution for anyone who likes the idea of making friends with their colleagues but needs a clear physical separation between work and home, and is keen to revive their social life at the same time. Could they come up with something similar for older people who are living by themselves and miss the work environment? Something for those who are in between student accommodation and a retirement home. Anyway, a good solution for the younger crowd.

Everyone is asked to come in for 2 days a week

A fantastic solution in which everyone loses and therefore we create an absolutely equal playing field for complaining. Anyone who wants to work in an office isn’t allowed to come in as much as they want to and anyone who wants to WFH is forced to go into the office for a few days. What’s not to like, if we’re all miserable together.

Companies reduce your salary to accommodate where you live if you’re working remotely

Something already being done by facebook. If you decide you want to WFH (which, theoretically, should allow you to work from anywhere in the world), the company you work for assesses what the relative salary is for your role in that area. So for example, your company is based in London (using as an example because cost of living is so much higher than elsewhere), but you’ve decided to move from London to Manchester. The cost of living in Manchester is lower, so your salary is reduced by the appropriate amount. But those who want to stay in London and take trips into the office, their salaries are maintained at the current rate they are on. Those that want to work remotely are able to have flexibility with where they live and those that want to live within commuting distance will be paid slightly higher for it.

Companies pay for commuting costs

It’s as simple as that. If you want to come into the office, you get your travel paid. If you don’t want to come into the office, it’s no skin off your back (or moths from your wallet). No one loses out and everyone gets a fair deal and an incentive for companies to be ok with both parties doing what they want.

You’re allowed to come into the office as much as you want

A crazy theory, in which companies actually ASK employees whether they want to come into the office from now on and those that do are placed on a schedule (which, incidentally, would allow for the reduced capacity issue many buildings are currently facing). Those that don’t want to come in don’t have to. WHAT WITCHCRAFT IS THIS.

Summary

There you go, 6 ideas for you to throw at someone next time they try to ram their bias down your throat. It doesn’t matter if you love it or hate it, because it’s totally possible for everyone to be happy.

If you haven’t had a listen already, I have a podcast (What The World Thinks) that explores peoples’ predictions for how we might be living in a post-covid world. Every episode is made up of loads of short voice notes I’ve collected from strangers on the internet (sounds shady, it’s not) giving their personal thoughts on the future of the world. It’s a little different, but great for learning about new thoughts and perspectives. Some good topics for conversation starters if you’re an awkward person like me who needs them.