But it gets solved when we are in-person.
We could develop new technology, research culture solutions... or... meet in-person.
We could develop new technology, research culture solutions... or... meet in-person.
The technology and culture solutions have existed and been evolving for 20 years. It really sounds like your experience with remote work is not representative.
Seriously, how much software have you used that was genuinely good? For me, almost none. All the software I use, I tolerate.
Look, companies are made up of people and have all the downsides of humanity. That means the people making the decisions are egotistical, emotionally-driven, irrational, and a bit narcissistic. They still do okay enough, and that's all they need to achieve.
If you want my perspective, I think WFH ended just because executives did not like it. That's it. They didn't like how much autonomy it gave their workers, it didn't feel fair to them, so they said no, because they can. All the other analysis is mostly bullshit.
I mean, Jesus Christ, do you think my company makes just about any decisions because of data or economics? No! That's not to say they don't have data behind it. Of course they do, it's just very obviously bullshit. Everyone knows what's going on. People want things done a certain way, so they do that and then just make up a justification later to tell their dumbass investors who couldn't tell a hole in the ground from their asshole. Nobody has the balls or humility to say "look, I just want it this way". So, everyone has to lie and make up numbers and reasoning.
I check in, and it ends up being story time about non-issues.
In person, its a 'hows it going?' and they say either 'good, still working' or 'stuck...'.
I would love if WFH was as effective. I could reduce my labor costs and probably have happier workers.
It's possible to build a high performing remote team, but it's not easy.
Structure is what makes remote work well. IME places that rely on everyone being together in-person to make sure things get done have poorly-defined structure.
It's possible to drive results and create a culture of accountability without dragging people into the room with you just so you can interrupt their work in-person.