We’ve been working remotely since March 2020, and lots of my staff have moved away. Even though we want to stay largely remote, we want employees to come into the office at least a few times per month. But some of our employees are living in other states. No one asked permission to move, as we just all did what we thought was necessary to get through the pandemic. Can I force them to move back? Can I terminate people? If we had known people would move out of the area, we would have put restrictions on where they could work much earlier.
To read my answer, click here: Can I Make My Remote Workers Come Back?
This is something for remote workers to keep in mind. If they move out of their expensive city place to somewhere less expensive and closer to family, since they can work from anywhere, there’s the risk that the company will mandate in-person attendance later when company management policies change. And then they’ll have the awkward choice of moving suddenly or quitting.
I think there are enough employers who realize that the game is changing and that employers now need to compete for people that maybe it will be OK.
However, there are always going to be those who want to perpetuate the existing system, the one where they promote the people they pee with.
https://wisconsin101.home.blog/2022/01/22/but-relationships/
I think that’s an unfair characterization. People are different. Some work best when they are physically around the people they work with, some work best remotely, and some work best in a hybrid. I think what we’ll see is firms that fall at various points on the spectrum, with workers tending to migrate (all else being equal, which it never is) to those firms which suit their preferred work environment best.