At the start of the pandemic, tech giants like Snap were all too happy to jump on board the work-from-home boom. The infamously innovative industry paved the way for remote work, eventually spurring on the new normal of flexibility when it comes to your commute. However, with a recession looming and tech layoffs abound, many companies have rescinded the previously flexible remote work policies, demanding employees return to the office for the majority of the week. And now, Snap has joined the fray. As for the reasons why, Spiegel is simply parroting the common line the productivity just isn’t the same with employees working from home. The policy change comes after Snap has struggled in recent months, reporting low quarterly revenue growth, with only 6% quarterly sales growth in late October, the lowest ever in the company’s history. Will a return to office actually help? Spiegel certainly seems to think so. This news is particularly unfortunate for the remote work movement, as Snap was one of the first and most generous adapters of the work from home policy. Snap now joins Twitter, who also revoked remote work status for its employees under the new owner, as some of the pioneers of remote work that have rebuked their previous work from home plans. If you’ve gotten used to working from home, rest assured that your flexible work schedule probably isn’t going anywhere. While tech giants have made a stink about productivity and returning to the office, the majority of businesses are sticking with their remote work policies and have no plans to change them. Even better, the numbers back them up. 78% of CEOs say that remote work is here to stay and working from home continues to be the number one priority for top talent, which means that removing this policy is going to do a lot more harm than good. Still, you need to make sure your business is equipped to effectively manage remote workers, which is where business tools can really help. Web conferencing and project management software can go a long way in facilitating productivity, while password managers and VPNs are excellent for maintaining a secure system with employees working from home.
