As people start to return to work, either full time or in a hybrid (some days in the office some days at home) mode, a new phenomenon is emerging which as business leaders we need to be aware of – Fear of Missing Out!

Prior to the pandemic, a large trial was done in China allowing people to work from home for an extended period of time. One of the conclusions of this study was that those who worked from home full-time missed out on promotions – out of sight out of mind?

Combine that with the conclusions outlined in this Bloomberg article that collaboration reduces significantly when working from home. All of a sudden getting people back to the office looks quite appealing. Social interaction, the coffee machine/water cooler chat and simply overhearing conversations, particularly for the younger generation, are more important than you might imagine, for both productivity and sanity.

The message is to think carefully before you implement a full working from home culture, there’s a lot of unknowns yet to materialise. Addressing such challenges is exactly what we do in Pabasso – Peer Advisory Board Associates.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-13/-fear-of-missing-out-will-drive-workers-back-into-the-office?sref=UBkQzfj0