“The Great Resistance” may cost you…

04 Jul “The Great Resistance” may cost you…

Photo by ahmad gunnaivi on Unsplash

At the beginning of June, I published “The Great Resistance,” which refers to the battle between workers who want to continue working from home versus employers who say it’s time to ‘come on back’ to the office.

The article that LinkedIn references can be found here: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/workers-dont-want-toys-or-free-food-they-want-a-higher-quality-of-life-the-great-resistance-is-here-companies-struggle-to-get-workers-back-to-the-office-11653281432?utm_source=elinfonet

The byline reads, “‘I’m very outspoken about my desire to never work in an office again,’ one such worker tells MarketWatch.”

Likewise. I feel like Obi-Wan: “Well, of course I know him. He’s me.” I don’t miss office work at all at all at all and have no intention to ever go back for any reason.
–https://causeyconsultingllc.com/2022/06/01/the-great-resistance/

Speaking candidly, one of the reasons why I screwed up the courage to try self-employment again after having a business that failed HARD and a subsequent Dark Night of the Soul depression is because of this very issue. Long commutes and being stuck in a cube farm all day = no friggin thanks.

But… what about people for whom self-employment just isn’t an option? IMHO, this is notttttttt the time to bury your head in the sand.

On July 4th, LinkedIn published, “Why execs are here for hybrid work,” which you can find here: https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/why-execs-are-here-for-hybrid-work-5370228/

My first reaction, NGL, was to snort-laugh and say, “I’m sure they are.” The blurb reads:

“The return-to-office war between companies and employees continues to unfold. As more and more employers require staffers back to the dreaded office — including companies like Tesla, Amazon and Google — the RTO war ‘demonstrates a disconnect’ says Business Insider. In fact, 64% of workers would choose WFH over a $30,000 raise, according to a Blind survey, and companies like Citi have adopted hybrid models to keep workers happy. ‘We know talent wants flexibility, and we’ve broken traditional industry norms in embracing hybrid work,’ said Citi’s head of human resources Sara Wetcher.”

So… yeah…

It was only last week that LI published, “Is hybrid a ‘hell of half measures’?” (https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/is-hybrid-a-hell-of-half-measures-5911058/) There seems to be a playing of both sides or talking out of both sides of the mouth here. On one hand: hybrid is a hell of half measures and on the other, execs are here for hybrid work! Oy.

It seems that there’s two potentials bubbling up:

• WFH but accept a pay cut to do so
• RTO and go back to butt-in-seat at the Cube Farm

TBH, I feel like the first option will eventually bleed into the second one. I’m sorry, I hate to sound like Eeyore, but that’s what I see coming further down the line. I could be wrong and I hope I am. When we look at how many people live paycheck-to-paycheck and how inflation surely doesn’t seem to be “transitory,” I’m not sure how a majority of people will dig their heels in and lead a full-scale rebellion against RTO for the long run. NSFW, but this video gets the point across: https://www.tiktok.com/@maxtheverygoodboy/video/7114385633241517354

Also: welcome to peak LinkedIn. Thanks for these totally original hot takes. SMH.

As I’ve said before, this is an auspicious time to get strategic on who you’re listening to and where you’re getting advice.

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