Most of us who work in some type of office job have experienced the who work-from-home vs. in-office debate for the past three years since the COVID-19 Pandemic befell us. I, for one, have been a fervent proponent of remote work since the beginning, but I do acknowledge there are benefits to a hybrid model as well. However, I fully believe that no office job needs to be 100% in-person, and any company that disagrees is obsessed with control and worker exploitation. This is why EBN’s article, Gen Z wants the office experience — but are employers ready to invest? irked me. As an older member of Gen Z, and one of the few of my generation who did work in an office prior to the Pandemic, I wholeheartedly disagree.
First of all, none my fellow Gen Z-ers whom I know personally share the sentiment implied in the above article. They either work remotely and love it, or they are always on the hunt for a remote job. The only ones who don’t work remotely are those who work physically involved jobs that have no way to be done remotely, such as manufacturing or lab work. One of my closest friends is a young mom, and remote work has saved her from having to use PTO when her child is sick. Personally, remote work removes me from the high stress environment of office life, therefore allowing me to focus only on my job stressors from the comfort of my home. At the same time, I can get housework and other tasks done during down time so much more easily than I would after a long day and commute.
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side
The article acts as though companies are refusing to provide their employees with office space. Yes, some surveys have shown Gen Z want to go back to the office, but I fail to see how employers are not accommodating this. Every day, more and more offices are mandating return to office policies, remote job listings are going down. One of my previous employers (Rhymes with “Fells Wargo”) went back on their word of promising we could work from home permanently and acted like they never said so in the first place. There are more than enough opportunities to work in-office every day if desired. My first thought is that we should look at the root cause for Gen Z’s RTO dreams. Most of Gen Z did not have the chance to work in the office prior to Covid-19. They didn’t have the opportunity to become burnt out on office politics, drama, small-talk, flourescent lighting and bad coffee. When they think of the office, they associate it with comraderie and relationships that form from being around the same people five days a week. Unfortunately, Gen Z have been robbed from many social experiences due to the Pandemic and now romanticize what they missed out on. They will go back to the office until they no longer want to, then what?
What I find hilarious, is that companies seemed more than happy to support working from home during lockdowns, and even acted like it was here to stay, but the second lockdowns were over they slowly started pushing the RTO agenda. We all know this is due to them needing ROI for their real estate, but all of 2020 seemed to be one long promotion for remote work from the Fortune 500. I never saw articles about average Joe’s wanting to return to the office until recently, however. Suddenly, everyone, especially the newest generation of the workforce, agrees with whatever corporate America wants? Doubt it. Generation Z, the most activist, anti-work generation yet, want to make The Man happy? Nice try. The best part is that this article flips the narrative by making it seem like it’s the workers who want to return to office and are being oppressed by their employers, who won’t allow them to. I have yet to find a single company who has banned their employees from working in-office if they truly so desire.
So go on, Gen Z. I assure you, there are more than enough offices for you to work in, go have your fill. I, however, will be writing emails in my pajamas from the comfort of my couch.
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