Remote Working – Trust, Remote Work and Company Policies

I was reading the other day that Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, announced significant changes to employee benefits and workplace policies.

Some of the key points included:

Office attendance is now set at three days a week, with remote working permitted on Mondays or Fridays.
The eligibility for a sabbatical has been extended from five years to eight years of service.
Uber plans to monitor in-office attendance.
The company will be expanding its office space by 700,000 square feet.

As you might imagine, this news was not particularly well received. From reading the article, it seems clear that Uber is seeking greater in-person collaboration.

One thing that stood out to me in the article was the comment:

“Some questions asked if Uber made policy changes in hopes that it would force some people to quit.“

Whether this is theory or fact remains unclear.

My thoughts on the matter

Having spent over 15 years working from office locations, I have seen a major shift since the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote working has become much more accepted among office-based employees. I can certainly see both the advantages and disadvantages.

Setting Uber’s situation aside for a moment, is this not fundamentally an issue of trust? I recall working for a company where working from home was strictly forbidden — the CEO’s stance was an outright “No.”

This raises a question: if you do not trust your employees, why hire them at all?

In another company where I worked (pre-COVID), I was required to complete a probation period (three months) before being permitted to work from home. This was not uncommon, as several friends experienced similar conditions in their roles. Again, this was before the pandemic.

Fast forward to post-COVID. After months of lockdown from March 2020 to March 2021, many employees had to adapt to working remotely or were placed on furlough. Friends of mine were managing childcare alongside working from home — undoubtedly a stressful time.

As people adjusted to remote working, many found it suited their lives far better. Personally, I found it hugely beneficial — primarily because I no longer had to endure the frustrations of public transport. Eliminating that daily stress was a major improvement to my quality of life.

Additionally, the time I used to spend commuting was instead spent working earlier and later. In effect, the company received an extra 60 to 120 minutes of unpaid work from me. I consider myself a trustworthy employee — I complete my assigned workload and attend all meetings as required.

In my current role, my contract designates me as a remote worker. I do not have a fixed office location but am expected to attend the office if needed. My team, led by my manager, arranges quarterly meet-ups which typically require two to three days away from home. I do not mind this, as the team is geographically spread across the country.

At the start of the year, the company introduced a new programme to encourage staff to attend their nearest office. I try to visit once a week, primarily for a change of scenery. However, none of my immediate colleagues work at that office, nor do I collaborate with anyone based there. In fact, I am not even sure which business division they belong to. My interactions are limited to polite greetings as I arrive and leave.

I realise I am rambling slightly, so to return to the main point:

Working from home is highly valuable for achieving a healthy work-life balance, particularly for those with children. Quality time when raising children is vital — something I have learned through my own experiences.

If you are a business owner, making remote working policies too restrictive may prompt employees to leave, especially if the policies do not accommodate personal needs. Introducing new rules without consulting employees can have a damaging effect on a business if people decide to resign en masse.

I have personally witnessed — and heard many stories of — this happening.

As the old BT commercials used to say