What is even happening here?

27 Dec What is even happening here?

Two snippets from LinkedIn News on 12/24/22.

Sometimes the contradictory headlines we see are so funny you couldn’t make them up if you tried.

In “news” that literally any introvert could have told you:

“Office staff are getting ‘desk-bombed’
By Ciarra Maraj, Editor at LinkedIn News

Workers returning to the office are experiencing an unavoidable distraction: ‘desk-bombing.’ That’s what workers are calling the act of stopping by a colleague’s desk to casually catch up or discuss work. Some people welcome spur-of-the-moment conversations because they can be an efficient way to get approval on certain tasks or lead to new connections. Others, however, told Insider that desk-bombing is ‘very disruptive’ to their workflow, so they’d prefer corresponding over email.”
–https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/office-staff-are-getting-desk-bombed-6107810/

NO DUH.

Larry David hit the nail on the head years ago with the phrase “stop and chat” and how he didn’t want to get involved in them:

It typically takes 15 to 25 minutes to rebound from a work distraction and regain your focus. (https://www.inc.com/nicholas-mcgill/it-takes-23-minutes-to-recover-from-a-distraction-at-work-heres-how-to-minimize-.html) So if you imagine all of these stop and chats going on throughout the day, it’s not a wonder that work drags out across an eight hour span. When you work for yourself and you can trim the fat and really get down to deep, intense work, it’s AMAZING how much faster basic tasks can be done. It creates a lifestyle where you can get in, get focused, put the work in, and then leave. Which some managers hate, sadly enough.

Yucko. This reminds me of the dude I wrote about in the blog post, Just be “available” because that’s what I want! (https://causeyconsultingllc.com/2022/08/26/just-be-available-because-thats-what-i-want/)

Fortunately, this commenter decided to spit some truth for us:

A manager focused on their own needs and not those of the peons? Say it ain’t so! 😆

On the upswing, when hiring managers post something arrogant and off-putting, it gives recruiters the chance to: a) see who they don’t want to work with and b) see who they can poach employees from.

Going to the other side of this contradictory coin, we find:

“Hybrid work is here to stay
By Taylor Borden, Editor at LinkedIn News

Select CEOs are demanding workers get back to their desks, but the hybrid approach will reign triumphant in 2023. Workers are still looking to prioritize the flexibility and work-life balance afforded by the pandemic — as evidenced by remote job postings attracting half of all applications on LinkedIn in October. A hybrid working model allows for that flexibility, while still making room for occasional in-person mentoring and socializing, which experts consider key reasons for in-office collaboration.”
–https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/hybrid-work-is-here-to-stay-6104442/

Yeeeaaaaah. OK. Several things to unpack here:

+ It’s not a given that “the hybrid approach will reign triumphant in 2023.” Just because they phrase it like a fait accompli don’t make it so, ya see. Yes, workers DO still want flexibility and work-life balance and as they admit on the platform: most applicants are going after remote roles. I’m in the job market every single day and I still yet have not encountered one single person who was geeked up about full RTO.

+ I’ve predicted many times before both on this blog and on my podcast that hybrid is used as a transition and nothing more for most firms. Eventually, it will be 2 days in office, then 3, then 4, followed by, “Well hell. Just go ahead and c’mon back Mon-Fri.” Wait and see.

+ So… on one hand, we’re told how frustrating it is to be “desk-bombed” by people at work but then on the other hand, we’re supposed to turn cartwheels for hybrid work? WTF?

+ When John & Jane Q. Public are finally allowed to know just how bad the economy truly is, the stick of the carrot-and-stick analogy will probably feel more like an anvil dropped out of the sky à la Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. In other words: the poking and the prodding and the so-called perks to herd people into full RTO will get quite brutal. If unemployment is as bad as it was during the Great Recession, you cannot tell me the average person with bills to pay will not acquiesce and RTO. Let’s be real here. Pipe dreams and hopium will not save anyone.