Will employees return to the office and does it matter??

“Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” Elon Musk wrote in an email sent to all staff recently.

“If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.”

“The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence.”

“That is why I lived in the factory so much — so that those on the line could see me working alongside them. If I had not done that, Tesla would long ago have gone bankrupt.”

Business leaders the world over have been waiting with bated breath over how Telsla employees will react to the order. Tesla, often considered a highly sought after employer due to their innovation agenda, could face issues retaining staff from a directive that seems to lack empathy and understanding from the enigmatic leader. Many businesses have actively approached Tesla employees in recruitment campaigns to try and attract some of their best and brightest employees.

This is distinctly interesting times where, in many cases, employees have shown just how productive they can be working from home during the pandemic, with many employees citing that they were more productive than working from the office.

So what are the pro’s and cons of a hybrid working environment?

Pro’s

In a candidate short market, it seems like the smartest move to attract talent who value remote and flexible work environments

It gives smaller and more flexible businesses the ability to compete for talent against larger, more stringent Corporates

Employees can be more productive

Employees are generally happier, resulting in greater retention

Con’s

Depending on your levels of trust (and how self motivated your employees are, some may do less work, or aren’t focusing on the right kind of activities)

It provides challenges for building relationships and trust between employees

It can be more challenging for Junior members of staff

Depending on the types of work your business is involved with, some activities require face to face activity (such as customer appointments and prospecting).

What are some of the flexible work arrangements that employers are offering? Business Victoria offer a range of resources on developing Flexible Work Arrangements such as Policies, responding to requests and types of Flexible Work arrangements. Some of these include: