“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
– John F. Kennedy

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I. Recent Study on Possible Career Effects of Remote Working

A recent article in The New York Times reported the findings of a just-published study of the effects of remote work on the careers of younger employees. The study’s conclusion can be summarized this way: remote work provides flexibility, and may promote productivity, but nonetheless often results in a “hidden professional penalty” from loss of frequent feedback, a critical ingredient of success, especially for younger workers.

In difficult “Covid Times” remote work was not easy for employers to deny, given the dangers of “commuting, elevators and air ducts,” and so it became near universal. It granted employees greater flexibility in both their work lives and personal lives. That flexibility then grew coveted, and is now not being surrendered easily. As employers are now urging employees to return to the “office,” many have objected, often basing their reluctance to do so on their view that remote work has resulted in greater productivity.

II. In-Person Interactions Found Especially Important for Younger Workers

The study’s authors – economists at the Federal Reserve, University of Chicago, and Harvard University – found that remote work often did increase productivity, yet denied those same remote workers the daily feedback so essential to developing good judgment skills and stronger in-house relations. And, too, opportunities for in-person mentorship did not replicate well on Slack and Zoom. As Natalia Emanuel, one of the economists on the study expressed it, “Face-to-face meetings are very different from FaceTime.”

The study also found that the loss of face-to-face interaction may take its toll in future years, when disparities in promotions, pay and job security arise. One study participant put it this way, “When you’re remote, you’re out-of-sight, out of mind.” The study also noted that remote working seemed to have a negative effect on career development for younger workers, less so for their older colleagues.

III. Our Clients’ Views – What Promotes Engagement is a “Win” for All

Having spoken to a good number of our senior executive clients about the study, we noticed that two interesting points often arose: First, that senior executives and managers strongly preferred employees’ working in-office as it provided them ready access to younger employees on a frequent and casual basis, and near-instant ability to assign tasks and encourage engagement. Second, clients in their fifties and sixties saw in-office working as providing them greater opportunities for deeper engagement in their group and team efforts, and for this reason less anxiety about possible future layoff or position elimination.

One Senior Partner shared with us her view this way: “I want my employees interested and engaged in their work, and that includes in learning what and who they need to know. That’s how I got where I am now.”

This brought to mind our “Second Rule of Negotiation”: “In negotiation, what you want is not as important as what your negotiating partner wants, because what your negotiating partner wants is the key to your getting what you want.” No, sacrificing all work-life balance is not wise, but the employment relation is often viewed as one long-term, continuing negotiation. In this context, it’s something to bear in mind.