The Opportunity in Front of Us š¤©
How to Win the War on Talent, Part 2 - Whining won't get you anywhere
Hey Everyone,
Iāve avoided writing about āThe Great Resignationā (or the āThe Great Reshuffling,ā whatever you want to call it) because so much has already been written.
But most of it is trash, and I canāt take it anymore. Almost every take Iāve read is a combination of whining, blaming, or misplaced hope that everyone will return to their offices immediately or work remotely forever. All these pieces miss the point, which is:
Workers' expectations have changed, and quickly adapting organizations will take the best talent.
This series aims to think critically about, and maybe even question, your stance on remote work. You need to see the shift as an opportunity, not an excuse.1
-Ben
The Opportunity in Front of Us š¤©
This post started as something else. But, as I was writing, I realized that I wasnāt giving enough attention to the magnitude of the opportunity that the remote work powered Great Reshuffling presents. So Iām writing this post instead.
This week my goal is to convince you that The Great Reshuffling is a gift to capitalism - and that any whining about employees not wanting to go back into the office is a self-defeating waste of time.
The Great Reshuffling: Why Itās Different This Time
The history of capitalism is often portrayed as a relationship between Capital and Labor.Ā
For Capital, itās all about increasing shareholder returns. Anything Capital perceives as a potential impediment to returning cash to investors is a threat. For example, regulations, unionization, and higher taxes are all generally resisted. All political and social groups who lobby against those threats are generally seen as pro-business. This is all pretty standard stuff in a capitalist society.
Which is why I find many business leadersā reluctance to remote work so bizarre.Ā
My original plan this week was to pull some anti-remote work quotes from well-known CEOs and explain why their takes are bad. But hereās the thing - there are many of these quotes, AND almost all of them are anti-remote.Ā
Itās clear that the remote-skeptical crowd views work from home as a threat on par with increased taxes, increased regulations, or anything else that could potentially lower their margins. The irony is that this view couldnāt be more wrong (or more self-defeating).
The reality is that a remote and flexible workforce is a gift from the God of Shareholder Returns. Unlike regulations, labor laws, and taxes the Great Reshuffling helps Capital increase its margins.2 No more big, expensive office spaces full of cubes, no more geographical limitations on talent, no more commutes wasting workersā time, the end of wasteful watercooler chitchat, etc. Regardless of whether workers actually wanted it or not,3 remote work presents a significant opportunity for organizations to lower costs and increase the quality of their talent pool. A true capitalist would be filled with joy!
For the first time ever, society has the opportunity to do for talent what the internet, globalization, and robust supply chains did for the flow of goods. The scale of the opportunity is mind-boggling, and thanks to the learnings from the pandemic a majority of current and potential workers are serious about it.4
And yet we have these supposed capitalists, innovators, and lovers of creative destruction whining that remote work expectations hurt them and their organizations. Itās funny, sad, and mildly concerning all at the same time.Ā Ā
Just spitballing here, but maybe if those leaders spent less time complaining and more time being the innovators they claim to be theyād see remote work as the disruptive opportunity it is?
The Roots of Resistance
Iāll talk more about the why behind remote work resistance in another post, but it boils down to three things: flexible work is different, remote work is hard, and leadersā egos are fragile.
See you next week!
A caveat: I like going into an office, always have. Iām not anti-office. I like separating work and home. I work better when away from my kids (surprising, I know). And Iām an extrovert who likes most people, so I like hanging out with coworkers! But Iām also a realist.Ā Ā Ā
One way we know this is that the margins of public companies have steadily climbed up since March 2020. (And yes, I know that there are lots of contributors, but remote is a major factor).
They do.
This explains why a frightening majority of teachers, healthcare providers, and other workers without the option of work from home want to leave their jobs. They see how much better their remote working counterparts have it.