Previously, a job’s perks included flexible schedules, working from home, and the optional nature of office attendance. I wonder if the pendulum will swing the other way in the coming years, when office perks begin to outweigh remote work? Back in the day, I worked at a company called ENTER, which had a real focus on office presence and socialization (shoutout to Ekaterina Belousova, Ekaterina Liseycheva, and Alexey Dmitriev!). There were things like gaming Thursdays (every Thursday after work the whole office would play various games), themed costume Fridays, and so forth, which created emotional attachment and served as a non-material incentive for certain people (not everyone, as those who don’t fit this mold typically don’t get hired). Cynically speaking, from a business perspective, it’s indeed a very effective tool. Nowadays, with remote work, money plays a bigger role. Essentially, the situation resembles a competition between hotels on booking.com – the one with the lower price and sufficient quality gets more bookings. Other advantages are less considered now. Overall, working remotely has a big downside. It’s always easier to fire a name on a list than a real guy in front of you in the office, with whom you went to lunch every day.
It’s interesting, will the trend shift back to the office? I bet that it will, but it will take over the premium segment. Roughly speaking, it will be a privilege that has to be earned. Employees will crudely be divided into numbered agents somewhere in the system, and real people. Some from the first group will be happy with their situation, while others will aspire to be part of the second group, where both money and respect are higher.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 