People do Not Want to Work from Home. People Want Flexibility!

In this week's episode, Ricardo talks about the flexibility people are looking for today to work from home or in the office.

Following the pandemic, the relationship between employers and workers shifted, and employees now demand more freedom in their daily work lives. Having the option to work from wherever you like can help some people strike a better balance between their professional and personal lives, which in turn can boost productivity.

To compete for top talent, many modern businesses offer greater workplace freedoms to prospective employees.

The project manager must realize what stimulates the team the most and will add more value to the project. Teams working on product development or digital transformation want autonomy, responsibility, and input into the company's larger strategic context.

Working from home does not mean that people will work less; committed people will have the same level of dedication, regardless of where they are developing their work. On the same note, and sadly, those who do not want to work will not work regardless if they stay home or wear a suit at the office.

Listen to #5minpodcast to understand better.

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Episode transcript

The transcript is generated automatically by Podscribe, Sonix, Otter and other electronic transcription services.

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 5 Minutes podcast. Today I like to touch on a point that always concerns me when I hear it's the permanent fight between working from home, working from the office, some companies pushing people back to the office, and employees that do not want to go back to the office. And I understand that all the challenges we faced during the pandemic changed our minds. However, there is a discussion that goes far above and beyond. Working from home or the office is the question and the desire for flexibility. So people, most of the employees, and I'm talking now to the employer, if you are listening to this podcast and you are an employer, you need to understand that most of the employees do not necessarily want to work from home or from the office. What they want is flexibility, flexibility to define where the work will be accomplished in a better way, if it's at home or if it's going to the office. And this goes even above and beyond what attracts people to work for you. You attract people by providing autonomy, providing responsibility, of course, rewards and recognition, and flexibility. Most companies today want to attract great talents for project management, they work, and they try to put flexibility a key aspect of the job. It means you can work from wherever you are, around the time you want to work, and where you want to work.

And I know this is extremely challenging for some companies because it's a cultural mindset, and I feel so sad when I hear people say, Oh when people work from home, they just do not work. They just stay on the couch watching TV, you know, wearing pajamas. This is not true. Maybe some people will do that. But these people that do that, they don't do that just because they are at home. They will do the same. Wearing a nice suit in your office. They will stay at the canteen. They will stay in this pointless meeting, just trying to look like they are busy but doing nothing. And you all know that. So it's not if people do not have the moral compass to understand the work; it doesn't matter if you lock them in an office or lock them at home. They will try to avoid work at all costs. So serious, honest, and correct people; these people want flexibility, they want autonomy, they want the responsibility. They don't want people to say, okay, you need to work from 8 to 5 or 1 to 6 p.m., so it's just pointless. What's the job that must be undertaken? You know, and I can do this job from different places. It may be from my home, but it may be from a different place. Of course, respecting that I have the proper conditions to work, that I have the proper access to work.

So many young generations work in this hybrid mode. They work three days from home. Then one day, they go to the office. Then they spend two or three days. And this is natural, and this is a trend. And for companies that are trying to lock people again in the office, thinking that people will not work properly, there is a risk that I want to raise for you that if other companies offer this flexibility and you don't, you lose the employees. It's simple like that. It's simple like that. You know, it's so easy to see people just moving because, you know, I want more flexibility. I want, for example, to have the time to stay at home because I can be more productive. I can concentrate more on working from home for others. No, I want to work from the office. So it's not a matter of working from home or working from the office is a matter of flexibility. It's how you can provide people the flexibility to define in an autonomous way how they want to work and how they perform better at work. Remember, people trying to cheat the system will always exist in whatever system you may create for people to work. So you just need to identify these people and try to avoid working with them. I hope you enjoy this podcast, and I will see you next week with another 5 Minutes podcast.

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