I was at a conference when a chief executive announced a plan to require everyone to be in the office full-time. I couldn’t resist raising my hand to ask: “What do you know that organizational psychologists don’t?” He said the goal was to boost productivity, innovation and collaboration. But I had evidence that demanding in-person work is more likely to be a quest to feed the boss’s ego. In a guest essay this week, Marissa Shandell, Courtney Elliott and I share our new research on why some leaders are hostile to allowing people to work from home for even a day or two each week. Across our studies of C.E.O.s, executives, middle managers and frontline supervisors, one trait consistently predicted resistance to remote and hybrid work. We found that what mattered wasn’t how trusting or outgoing leaders were; it was how self-centered they were. It turns out that narcissistic leaders see remote work as a threat to their power and status. They drag people into the office to assert control and gain validation — they want to feel influential and important. As we unpack these findings, we bust a few myths about remote work. One: Return-to-office mandates don’t increase profits by weeding out people who lack commitment. They motivate the most talented people to jump ship. Two: As long as people are together for half the week, remote work isn’t isolating. And three: Hybrid work isn’t bad for performance, innovation or connection. We can actually be more productive, creative and collaborative when we’re in the office three or four days per week instead of five. Time apart enables us to concentrate on deep work, think independently and prioritize connection when we’re together. Bosses who really care about productivity should take note of that.
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