Relocate or find a new job? That’s the ultimatum faced most recently by workers at IBM, a company that’s spent years promoting the benefits of remote work and selling the infrastructure to help make it work. It recently gave its remote employees an ultimatum: Move to one of IBM’s regional offices or leave the company.
In “IBM’s Remote Work Reversal Is a Losing Battle Against the New Normal,” Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel explains why he feels IBM’s move is short-sighted.
“Flexible work isn’t just the future of work—it’s already here. Forcing people back into offices is like handing them all paper time cards and telling them to start punching in and out. It’s not just retrograde and absurd, it’s also a surefire way to lose the best people you’ve got already and to turn away tomorrow’s top hires. Just ask Yahoo.“
While IBM says the change is meant to encourage collaboration and innovation, Kasriel explains three reasons why it won’t work:
- The move will diminish the quality of IBM’s team.
- IBM’s own research indicates this policy will have the opposite effect of stated intended productivity gains.
- For both IBM and the economy, this is the wrong move and the wrong time to make it.
Thanks to the pioneering efforts of many tech companies, including IBM itself, “…companies now have the ability to conceive of themselves as ‘results-only work environments’,” Kasriel said. “IBM will keep selling cloud-based software and services that support an ‘anytime, anywhere workforce’ it’s no longer a part of. Good luck making that sales pitch.”
Read Kasriel’s full commentary on Fast Company >>
The post Why IBM’s Move to Cut Remote Work Will Backfire appeared first on Upwork Blog.
from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2rdp2BN
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