Reference no: EM133318779

According to the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) website, April 2020 recorded the highest unemployment rate during the COVID-19 pandemic at 14.8%. As of July 2022, the unemployment rate reduced to 3.5%, which is the same as the pre-pandemic level unemployment rate for January and February of 2020. However, the working norms (e.g. where, when and how to work) have altered during these past two and half years as summarized in an American Opportunity Survey report by McKinsey & Company:

Thirty-five percent of job holders can work from home full-time, and twenty-three percent can do so part-time
Eighty-seven percent of workers offered at least some remote work embrace the opportunity and spend an average of three days a week working from home
Younger, more educated, or earn higher incomes tend to have more options to work remotely
The opportunity to work flexibly differs by industry and role within industries, and has implications for companies competing for talent
Job seekers highly value having autonomy over where and when they work
Employees working flexibly report obstacles to peak performance (e.g., isolation-related mental health concerns, child-care arrangements)
With the pandemic waning, companies are demanding their workers to return to office full-time as seen by these headlines:

08/15/22, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon claimed that "remote work creates a working environment that's less honest and more prone to procrastination". - In a shareholder letter released early 2022, the bank expects 50% of its employees to return to office full-time, with an additional 40% working in a hybrid system. It is also using tracking ID card swipes to ensure compliance with the new work policy and monitoring the time employees spend on Zoom and emails to measure productivity.
08/15/22 - Union for AT&T workers extended work from home until the end of March 2023 amidst demand by employer to return to offices.
08/15/22 - Apple employees are to report to office three days a week from September 5th.
06/05/22 - Tesla's CEO Elon Musk's email to his employees: "Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. Moreover, the office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo-office. If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned."

Discussion Questions:

Identify TWO takeaways from the McKinsey & Company report to explain the tradeoffs between work and leisure of employees in a post-pandemic period.

Identify at least foureconomic costs (two explicit and two implicit) and explain how costs will change when remote work become part of the company's labor contract with the employees?

Self-reflection: What would be your preference: return to office (RTO), remote work, or a bit of both? Explain.