Irish Examiner view: Will presenteeism rear its ugly head again at work?

Companies reconsider remote working policies

Business as usual from the home office, but will this last? Picture: Joe Giddens/PA

In January we observed that the employment focus was returning to the workplace and that the suspension of “business as usual” during the pandemic had revealed divisions of opinion that may prove difficult to set aside.

Sacrificing 10-12 hours per day (once travel time is included) was a heavy burden on personal and family life. Commuting can also be represented (and frequently is) as an unsatisfactory contribution to making us a more environmentally aware society committed to net zero. Companies are frequently hierarchical and poor at maximising individual responsibility and discretion over use of time. Open plan environments can also produce their own challenges.

For some corporations the decision is already made. They believe office life improves personal productivity and delivers results. Apple in California has directed staff to return to the office for three days a week from September. This will encourage the “in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture”, according to Tim Cook’s memo to employees.

Currently there are lots of vacancies, and not enough people to fill them. This is a moment of opportunity for workers, which is one of the reasons that trade unions have become more bullish across Europe. Apple Together, a staff collective, is petitioning the company to continue hybrid working. 

Meanwhile, the muscular Elon Musk has told Tesla employees that he will allow remote working on condition that staff first complete 40 hours per week in the office. Any exceptions must be reviewed personally by him.

While staff shortages prevail, employees hold most of the cards, as can be evidenced by the fact that the most popular days for working from home generally are Friday and Monday, implying that the cult of the long weekend is becoming institutionalised. But if demand decreases and costs increase, the balance of power will change in favour of companies. And we may encounter a new phenomenon.

Presenteeism. It’s an ugly word. It means being on parade to catch the eye of whoever is i/c at that moment and to reassert your individual value to the company. Another change of behaviour to contemplate arising from the past three years of turbulence. We have all become used to that.