The evidence is in: working from home is a failed experiment | Gene Marks

The evidence is in: working from home is a failed experiment | Gene Marks

I have a client who runs a business that was not considered to be “essential” and therefore had to shut his doors during the height of the pandemic and send his employees home to work. This went on for a few months. When, last summer, things started to relax, he called everyone back to the office. No exceptions.“Working from home isn't an option in my business,” he told me. “I don't buy into it. I want my people here.”Is he out of touch? Perhaps. But this point of view is shared by more than a few clients of mine. Mostly, they fit a similar demographic: older, set in their ways, long time in business, family-owned companies. It's obvious that most companies will need to offer work from home options in the future. But what's more obvious, at least to me, is that so far, this has been a failed experiment. And, sooner or later, many small businesses are going to come around to thinking like my client.If you don't believe me, then just consider the results of a recent, large study from Microsoft.According to the study, almost two-thirds of the more than 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31