WFH 4EVA? — For all the hubbub about how coronavirus would revolutionize the way we work, the pandemic has not scrambled workplace plans for most companies, according to a recent Morning Consult poll. Even with the Delta variant hospitalizing a growing number of Americans and complicating school reopenings, only 8 percent of survey respondents said their companies had come up with permanent work-from-home policies. Most respondents said they are currently working in person.
Still, with Covid showing no signs of abating, and mask requirements falling back into place, more and more companies might have to rethink their plans. Twitter, Facebook and The New York Times are among those that already have delayed — or halted — a return to in-person office work this fall. POLITICO too.
What will the fall look like if remote work stays in place for many of America’s workers? Will they be able to take another long stretch of not seeing their colleagues and juggling home obligations behind their Zoom screens? Nightly reached out to workplace experts to get their take on what, if anything, employers should do to keep employees motivated and connected in the weeks and months ahead — especially after it seemed like work life would return to normal. Here are their edited answers:
“These delays are further indication that our reliance on remote work, in one form or another, is enduring and permanent. While some employers have embraced remote work, others have been holding their breath. It’s time to exhale. It’s time to help people develop the skills they need for remote work — structuring tasks, building relationships and trust, collaboration, inclusive leadership, smart and balanced digital tool usage, and boundary-setting. Longstanding research shows that these capabilities yield higher job satisfaction and performance.
“With well-equipped and happier workers, the seesaw that the pandemic is imposing upon us won’t feel like a massive psychological and organizational blow. The evolving virus won’t adhere to any particular date. We should be open to timelines that integrate sufficient notice for people to navigate their return to work. Some will need psychological preparations. Families will have to restructure their childcare plans and support apparatuses. Everyone will benefit from timelines that are not rigid in a dynamic world.” — Tsedal Neeley, Harvard Business School professor and author of Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere
“Some organizational leaders continue to downplay the extent to which the pandemic has caused lasting changes to how employees feel about their jobs (and work in general), and insist that things should go back to the way they were in 2019. But earlier this week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released monthly figures showing that employee resignations in the U.S. were 10 percent higher in June 2021 than they were in June 2019. These data indicate that a strategy based on turning back the clock is out of touch with reality.
“There are at least three things leaders should do this fall. First, the pandemic caused many employees to think about whether their work is providing meaning and happiness in their lives, and for some, the answer was no. There is an opportunity here for leaders to remind workers of the meaningfulness of their work, and the simplest way to do this is to make it clear to employees how their work makes a positive difference in the lives of others and/or the world. Second, now is the time for managers to have one-on-one conversations with their employees, and discuss the aspects of their jobs that bring them happiness and meaning, versus those that cause them stress or dissatisfaction. In a process called job crafting, managers can work with employees to rearrange their jobs such that the positive elements are maximized. Third, as the pandemic drags on, now is the time for leaders to collect data from their employees regarding what is working and what is not working in terms of flexible work arrangements, and then begin experimenting with solutions to those problems.
“By engaging in purpose-driven leadership, job crafting and evidence-based management, employers can partner their employees in setting up their companies to succeed in this new world of work.” — Anthony C. Klotz, associate professor of management at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University
“Anything employers can do to address burnout and Zoom fatigue will pay big dividends. Think about rewarding results rather than ‘attendance.’ Celebrate small milestones on projects frequently. Find ways to have fun, like hiring a DJ for the next long Zoom meeting or even hiring a firm to provide remote team-building events. Make it an every-other-day practice to thank your team and acknowledge the hard work they are doing in an impossible situation.
“Be innovative with scheduling. For example, close down the entire office each Friday instead of staggering time off or staff work hours/days. This creates a true, and much needed, break for everyone.
“Start planning on how to continue to offer flexible and remote work into the future. Companies that demand a return to pre-pandemic ‘business as usual’ will lose employees who will have many remote options to choose from in the future.” — Amy Beacom, founder and CEO of the Center for Parental Leave Leadership and co-author of The Parental Leave Playbook
“At the Worker Wellbeing Lab, we interviewed people who were suddenly forced to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. And our research team (Megan Benzing, Alyssa Birnbaum and Chloe Darlington) found that, as employees no longer have the spatial or temporal distinction between the office and home, they use active techniques to manage their boundary-less work and personal lives constantly during the day: napping to recover from Zoom fatigue, homeschooling between Zoom meetings, working on tasks after dinner. When interviewees described these ‘nano’ transitions as autonomous, intentional and regulated, they also reported that their days were more balanced or productive, even if they were longer.
“Employers might be underestimating the ability of remote work to provide employees with the autonomy and the competence they need to manage their own lives fully. Our qualitative findings suggest that being able to engage in effective nano transitions is beneficial, and managers should trust their employees and offer them the agency to do so. This is critical, especially considering the increasing number of employers investing in monitoring software to try to manage their workforces. Monitoring software that is too invasive (e.g., software that logs all keystrokes and online activity) can erode employees’ trust and decrease their agency to structure their days.” — M. Gloria González-Morales, professor of psychology at Claremont Graduate University
Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at [email protected]. Or contact tonight’s author at [email protected] or [email protected] and on Twitter at @renurayasam or @MyahWard.
— Pentagon deploying personnel to Kabul to evacuate U.S. Embassy: The U.S. is sending thousands of troops to help evacuate a number of civilians from the American Embassy in Kabul, the State Department confirmed today, a move that comes as the Taliban are marching across Afghanistan and capturing key cities at surprising speed. Although U.S. officials insisted that the embassy remained open and that the move did not amount to an abandonment of the country, it was an ominous sign of how quickly Afghanistan appears to be unraveling in the wake of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of combat troops and amid flailing peace negotiations.
— HHS mandates Covid-19 vaccinations for health care workforce: The Department of Health and Human Services is requiring all of its front-facing health care employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19, making it the second federal department to mandate vaccinations for a portion of its workforce. The policy announced today will apply to more than 25,000 officials under HHS’ sprawling umbrella, including staff at the Indian Health Services and National Institutes of Health who operate health and clinical research facilities or could come into contact with patients.
— U.S. jobless claims near pandemic low as economy strengthens: The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Today’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell to 375,000 from 387,000 the previous week. The number of applications has fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January as the economy has increasingly reopened in the aftermath of the pandemic recession.
— Nation’s largest teachers union backs vaccine mandates: The National Education Association endorsed Covid-19 vaccine requirements for school workers today, aligning itself with the Biden administration’s push to get more Americans inoculated as the disease sends children to the hospital. Teachers and other educators should have the option to submit to regular virus testing, NEA president Becky Pringle said, but she added that her 3 million members should embrace vaccination, particularly as children return to classrooms for the new school year.
— Top Biden adviser Anita Dunn leaves White House: Top Biden adviser Anita Dunn departed the White House today as her temporary position concludes, though she will still play a key role as an outside counselor to Biden — similar to how she served in the Obama years. Dunn told POLITICO that her time at the White House was wrapping up today, confirming the news first reported by Axios.
REDISTRICTING FEVER? COUNT ON IT — Today’s Census data dump sets off a mad redistricting dash across the country. The maps could tilt control of Congress for the next decade, but first state leaders will have to pore over the data, which shows that the United States is quickly becoming more ethnically and racially diverse. The number of white people in the country fell for the first time since the Census began in 1790.
Whatever the data shows, it’s Republicans who have the upper hand in drawing new election districts because they largely control state legislatures, state politics reporter Zach Montellaro told Nightly today. Watch to see if Zach can break down today’s Census data drop and what’s ahead for redistricting — in three minutes or less.
DRAWDOWN IN MINSK — Belarus revoked its consent to the appointment of Julie Fisher as U.S. ambassador to the country and demanded Washington reduce its Minsk embassy staff to five people by Sept. 1, the Belarusian foreign ministry said this week.
The move came after the U.S., U.K. and Canada issued fresh trade, financial and aviation sanctions on Belarus on Monday, in a bid to increase pressure on the regime of the country’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko — an ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The package was announced on the first anniversary of a disputed presidential election that saw Lukashenko remain in power and launch a crackdown on pro-democracy activists and the press.
“The arrogant and frankly hostile actions of the American side … forced us to revoke the previously issued consent of the Republic of Belarus to the appointment of J. Fisher as the U.S. ambassador to our country,” Belarus foreign ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said, adding that Minsk “has lost trust in the current U.S. administration.”
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