Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Remote work could be the reason you don’t have a job in 10 years

Workers who have been rejoicing about their ability to log on from anywhere might do well to consider the inverse situation: a worker somewhere else can probably do their job—for cheaper. 

“That might cost them their job in the long run. ”

The fact that many jobs that can be done from home can also be done from anywhere around the globe is often missing in the remote work discussion, says Anna Stansbury, an assistant professor of work and organization studies at MIT Sloan School of Business who teaches a course on the future of work. 

2. The Open Office Is Out, ‘Seated Privacy’ Is In as Cubicles Make a Comeback

Anyone who’s traded their prepandemic skinny jeans for looser, 1990s-style pants knows the joy of a little more room. Now workers craving extra space are spurring the revival of two more vintage staples: cubicles and private offices. With doors that shut!

“Lots of people always hated the “open” office layout designed to foster collaboration. There’s nowhere to hang your stuff, nowhere to have a sensitive conversation and nowhere to focus without overhearing colleagues’ blabbering. Plus, several studies indicate that the supposed benefits of togetherness and transparency are overrated.”

The privacy many got used to while working from home only intensified the loathing—as did the “hot” desk system businesses adopted for hybrid employees to drop into reopened office buildings. 

3. If Your Quiet Quitting Is Going Well, You Might Be Getting ‘Quiet Fired’

It can feel like you’re getting away with it. You’ve dialed down the intensity at work, passing on late nights and extra assignments with seemingly no negative consequences. In fact, your boss appears to respect your new boundaries and has lightened your workload.

“Careful. Your “quiet quitting” can lead to your “quiet firing”—and eventually your actual firing. And it’s already happening in some companies, human-resources specialists say.”

“If all of a sudden you find you’re not invited to the meetings you used to be, or being offered the projects, that’s an indication that management is not viewing you as well as they used to,” says Victor Assad, a former HR director at Medtronic PLC and Honeywell International Inc. who is now a consultant.

4. Malcolm Gladwell's Fears About Remote Work Are Real. It's Your Brain That's Telling You Lies — Here's Why.

"It's not in your best interest to work at home." A bold and controversial statement made by five-time New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell on the "Diary of a CEO" podcast. Since then, the internet has been ablaze, mostly in opposition to Gladwell's strong stance against remote work. There was so much backlash that Gladwell reinserted himself into the conversation and doubled down on this pro-office position stating, "offices really do matter."

“Gladwell is right — I can confidently say that, as someone who has spent over three years researching connections at work. No research shows that our social connections improve while working in virtual environments. This alone should cause us to pause and be much more thoughtful about how we approach work moving forward. Additionally, 69% of employees aren’t satisfied with the opportunities for connection in their workplace. And people who have weak connections at work have a 313% stronger intent to quit.”

So, why did so many employers and employees have issues with Gladwell's comments? Because our brain is conflicted and lying to us.

5. Microsoft Says ‘Productivity Paranoia’ Can Hurt Hybrid Workplaces

Employees think they’re being just as productive as ever. Bosses aren’t buying it.

“New data from Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, which surveyed 20,000 employees across 11 countries, finds that despite early signs of a productivity boom during the pandemic—when many workers traded commuting time for more hours of working from home—there’s a steep divide between how workers and their employers see productivity two years later.”

Eighty seven percent of employees who responded to the survey said they are productive at work, and Microsoft reported earlier this year that many signs of productivity are up. This spring, the tech giant found that the number of meetings per week among users of its Teams platform had increased by 153% since the start of the pandemic. Overlapping meetings increased by 46%. At least 42% of people multi-task, actively sending an email or pinging a colleague during a scheduled meeting.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great and hugely impactful week!