Ugh, Jessica, you absolutely nailed this. There are a lot of things I could say about my organization right now, but won't, just: everything in this post rings true for me, I wish with all my heart that I could go into the office three days a week and wfh the other two, this will never happen with the current (older white male) CEO. I'll leave it at that.
I hear you, Sarah, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that--with time--things will change for you. To stay relevant and desirable to working parents, organizations will have to be flexible (and, I would even say, innovative) to retain top talent.
Have had this queued up and finally had a chance to read it. It's really terrific and I'll be passing it on to others. I worked in a traditional office until 2009, then remote at least half the time until 2011 and was tremendously productive because I didn't have all of the "face to face" interruptions. A new boss (older white female) insisted I be in the office five days a week because she didn't trust that I was working a strict 9-5 day. Predictably, productivity went into a sinkhole.
Now, as a freelancer, I occasionally miss the interaction you have with people in the office, but not enough to ever go back to one. Ironically, my wife's office went virtual seven years ago, with everyone gathering in person every month to six weeks. When the pandemic hit, they didn't miss a beat. They have people working for them from all over the country, and now they can look for the best person for a position rather than settling for someone who lives in the area.
Ugh, Jessica, you absolutely nailed this. There are a lot of things I could say about my organization right now, but won't, just: everything in this post rings true for me, I wish with all my heart that I could go into the office three days a week and wfh the other two, this will never happen with the current (older white male) CEO. I'll leave it at that.
Thank you for calling attention to this issue.
I hear you, Sarah, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that--with time--things will change for you. To stay relevant and desirable to working parents, organizations will have to be flexible (and, I would even say, innovative) to retain top talent.
💯
Have had this queued up and finally had a chance to read it. It's really terrific and I'll be passing it on to others. I worked in a traditional office until 2009, then remote at least half the time until 2011 and was tremendously productive because I didn't have all of the "face to face" interruptions. A new boss (older white female) insisted I be in the office five days a week because she didn't trust that I was working a strict 9-5 day. Predictably, productivity went into a sinkhole.
Now, as a freelancer, I occasionally miss the interaction you have with people in the office, but not enough to ever go back to one. Ironically, my wife's office went virtual seven years ago, with everyone gathering in person every month to six weeks. When the pandemic hit, they didn't miss a beat. They have people working for them from all over the country, and now they can look for the best person for a position rather than settling for someone who lives in the area.