Should You Keep Working From Home Post-Covid?

Summary

WSJ Your Money Briefing: Should You Keep Working From Home Post-Covid?

Date: March 19, 2021
Host: J.R. Whalen (Wall Street Journal)
Guest: Peter Capelli, Professor of Management, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business

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Episode Overview

This episode examines a key post-pandemic question: Should employees accept a permanent remote work arrangement if offered? J.R. Whalen interviews management expert Peter Capelli, who discusses crucial considerations around long-term telecommuting, including career advancement, team dynamics, performance visibility, and work-life balance. The discussion aims to help listeners weigh the pros and cons before making a significant career decision.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining “Permanent” Remote Work

• Uncertainty of Remote Work Promises
  • Many companies, such as Ford, are announcing long-term remote options, but "long term" can be ambiguous and subject to change.
  • Risks of relocating based on these promises: What happens if the remote policy is reversed?
  • Silicon Valley example: Employees encouraged to move away, but may have trouble finding new remote-friendly employers if laid off.
  • Quote (Peter Capelli):

    "Do I want to move my family from Detroit, my corporate job there, to Colorado, where we've always wanted to live, on the assumption that I can keep my job at Ford?... The problem is, you move and then the company doesn’t want you anymore." (02:37-03:53)

2. Impact on Team Dynamics and Informal Communication

• In-Office vs. Remote Worker Divide
  • Being physically apart can gradually push remote workers out of informal conversations and spontaneous decisions.
  • Historical comparison to expatriate workers who were often forgotten by office teams.
  • Quote (Peter Capelli):

    "It's not that they are cutting you out of official meetings, but a lot of decisions happen in the halls, a lot of conversation happens informally... You just find yourself cut out of the communication." (04:24-04:54)

3. Career Advancement Challenges

• Reduced Visibility Hurts Promotion Prospects
  • Performance management is often informal; being present increases perceived hard work and dedication.
  • Remote workers are less likely to seize advancement opportunities or get noticed for special projects.
  • Quote (Peter Capelli):

    "There's some pretty good evidence on this that it is harder to get promoted if you are one of those not in the office... You're at a bit of a disadvantage in trying to persuade your boss that you know you're really doing a good job if your boss doesn't see you." (05:04-06:27)

  • Further Insight:

    "If you really, really want promotions, choosing to stay out of the office is not the way to go." (06:27)

4. Importance of Clarifying Job Expectations

• Flexibility vs. Monitoring
  • Many seek remote work for flexibility and lifestyle reasons (avoid commuting, live rurally, caregiving).
  • Some employers install monitoring ("tattleware") that tracks time at the computer, reducing the flexibility benefit.
  • Quote (Peter Capelli):

    "If you're going to be working from home, but you have to sit at your desk the whole time, it kind of defeats the purpose of the flexibility that you wanted from being home in the first place." (06:32-07:38)

5. Home vs. Office: Deciding the Best Fit

• Weighing Distractions and Personal Situations
  • Office: Potentially more distractions (chatter, meetings, “the smell of fish in the office microwave”).
  • Home: May offer greater focus for some, but not for everyone (e.g., messy households, caregiving needs).
  • Quote (Peter Capelli):

    "A lot of it depends on what is your home situation really like, how easy is it going to be for you to work from home?... It depends on whether everybody else is going to be working in the office and you're going to be the only one home; that's not a great situation." (07:54-08:40)

6. Final Advice: Aligning with Personal Goals

• Job Ambitions and Work-Life Priorities
  • If work is just a paycheck and not your main focus, remote might fit.
  • If career advancement is your priority, maintaining a physical office presence is likely better.
  • Quote (Peter Capelli):

    "How ambitious am I? Is this a job that I want simply to pay the rent... If my focus is going to be my work and I'm not going to be in the office, that's probably not the greatest bet." (08:41-09:01)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Relocating for Remote Work:

  "You move and then the company doesn’t want you anymore." – Peter Capelli (03:22)

• On Remote Workers Missing Out:

  "A lot of decisions happen in the halls... They don’t schedule a Zoom call with you every time." – Peter Capelli (04:38)

• On Performance Visibility:

  "If you never see them, you can only assess based on the quality of their work... But you don't really know always what went into making that happen." – Peter Capelli (05:24)

• On Monitoring Technology:

  "If you've got tattleware, which is pointing out to the boss that you are away from your desk for a half hour and the assumption is you're goofing off, you don't benefit much from being at home." – Peter Capelli (07:05)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:37 – Risks of trusting “long-term” remote work promises
• 04:24 – How remote workers lose out on informal decision-making
• 05:04 – Promotion challenges for remote employees
• 06:32 – The value (and limits) of remote work flexibility
• 07:54 – Factors influencing best fit for remote or in-office work
• 08:41 – Aligning work setup with personal ambition and priorities

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Conclusion

This episode gives a nuanced view of the long-term remote work question. While remote work offers undeniable benefits—especially in flexibility and lifestyle—it also introduces real risks to career advancement and team participation. Peter Capelli underscores the importance of considering job security, personal ambition, team dynamics, and employer expectations before deciding to telecommute permanently. The ultimate advice: Carefully weigh your home situation, career goals, and your employer’s culture before making the leap to permanent remote work.

Transcript

[Small Business Owner]

Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it.

[Retail Industry Representative]

Inflation is killing me, but who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill.

[Small Business Owner]

See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources

[Retail Industry Representative]

they need while increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they?

[Electronic Payments Coalition Spokesperson]

Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.

[J.R. Whalen]

Here's your money briefing for Friday, March 19th. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal. A year ago, many companies had no choice but to send workers home amid government ordered lockdowns. Now, as pandemic restrictions ease, employers are mapping out plans to start bringing people back. But what if you're given the option to telecommute permanently? Should you take it? It's not an easy question.

[Peter Capelli]

You were part of that team. They're in the office, you're not. They just start making decisions without you. I mean, it's not that they are cutting you out of official meetings, but a lot of decisions happen in the halls. A lot of conversation happens informally. And, you know, they don't schedule a zoom call with you every time. They've just popped into somebody else's office and something comes up.

[J.R. Whalen]

Coming up, Peter Capelli, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, will discuss key questions you should be before you start telecommuting long term. That's after the break.

[Small Business Owner]

Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees that I don't really need it.

[Retail Industry Representative]

Inflation is killing me, but who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill.

[Small Business Owner]

See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources

[Retail Industry Representative]

they need while increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they?

[Electronic Payments Coalition Spokesperson]

Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.

[J.R. Whalen]

What if you were given the opportunity to work remotely on a permanent basis? It might cut down on some expenses, like commuting. But what effects could it have on, say, your interaction with your boss or maybe even your chances of being promoted? Let's ask Peter Capelli. He's a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. He's been studying this issue and he joins me now. Peter, thanks for being here.

[Peter Capelli]

Thank you.

[J.R. Whalen]

So, Peter, for an employee who might choose to work from home, what questions should that person have in mind?

[Peter Capelli]

Yeah, I think those are really important questions. I'd say the first one is, how long do I trust that this relationship will go on? So my employers and some of them now are saying, you can work remotely on a long term basis. Well, what does long term mean? Ford Motor Company, for example, made this announcement that they are going to allow more employees or a big group to work remotely. Well, do I want to move my family from Detroit, my corporate job there, to Colorado, where we've always wanted to live, on the assumption that I can keep my job at Ford? Now the problem is, you know, corporate jobs don't last all that long. What happens if I move my family out to Colorado and then my employer back home decides, you know, this wasn't such a great idea. We want everybody to come back and we're already moved and settled into a new place. What do I do then? And even the Silicon Valley, the tech companies, where people are used to hopping around a lot and, you know, they're telling people, yeah, go work remotely, go move where you want to move, and then we'll work it out later, you know. Well, the problem is you move and then the company doesn't want you anymore. Can you find another employer who's willing to let you work remotely, or are you going to have to pick up and move back to Silicon Valley?

[J.R. Whalen]

And after the pandemic, when a team comes back to the office and there are a couple of individuals who are now working remotely, how would that change up the dynamic and the ecology of that group?

[Peter Capelli]

I think what the research on this shows is that you don't want to be one of those people who is home when the rest of your team is in the office. This looks a lot like the experience we had generations or so ago with expats, when companies used to send people far away or remotely for a few years to work. And what the expats would discover is people forgot about them back at the office.

[J.R. Whalen]

Right.

[Peter Capelli]

So your team of, let's say, four other people, you were part of that team, they're in the office, you're not. They just start making decisions without you. I mean, it's not that they are cutting you out of official meetings, but a lot of decisions happen in the halls, a lot of conversation happens informally. And, you know, they don't schedule a zoom call with you every time they've just popped into somebody else's office and something comes up. Right. So it's not intentional, but you just find yourself cut out of the communication.

[J.R. Whalen]

And how could working from home on a long term basis affect someone's relationship with their cohorts and specifically their supervisor, could it get in the way of them, you know, potentially being promoted?

[Peter Capelli]

There's some pretty good evidence on this that it is harder to get promoted if you are one of those not in the office. And the reason is we haven't been very good about performance management in most organizations anyway. That is being very clear about what we want people to do and measuring who's done a good job or not. If you are around people all the time and you see them in the office and they're there late, it's easy to assume they must be doing a good job. If you never see them, you really can only assess based on the quality of their work. And, you know, you don't really know always what went into making that happen, how hard they had to work in order to get that outcome, or quirky things that happened that got in the way of what seemed to be a simple task. So you're at a bit of a disadvantage in trying to persuade your boss that you know you're really doing a good job if your boss doesn't see you. But I think even more so, you're out of the loop in terms of seeing opportunities for advancement. And that doesn't mean jobs and promotions. It might mean seeing an opportunity to really get your face in front of the decision makers or to solve a problem that really needs to be solved that other people jump on first because you didn't know about it. So I think it's pretty clear that if you really, really want promotions, choosing to stay out of the office is not the way to go.

[J.R. Whalen]

Now, if someone does choose to work remotely, why is it important for them to have a discussion about the kinds of work they'll be doing?

[Peter Capelli]

You know, the reason to work remotely for most people is because they don't want to commute, which is certainly reasonable. And they also want to be able to do things when they're not having to be right at their desk. You know, I want to move out in the country because it's pretty, and I want to have horses and that kind of stuff. And. But if it turns out that my employer is investing a lot of money now in spyware, what they often call tattleware now, which is basically watching me all the time online. And if you're not at your desk, the spyware knows it. Well, if you're going to be working from home, but you have to sit at your desk the whole time, it kind of defeats the purpose of the flexibility that you wanted from being home in the first place, Right. So that you have to be a caregiver, for example, and you've got little kids at home. When they need something, they need it right then, and they might need it for a half hour, and you want to be able to jump off your desk and go over there. But if you've got tattleware, which is pointing out to the boss that you are away from your desk for a half hour and the assumption is you're goofing off, you know, you don't benefit much from being at home. You might as well be in the

[J.R. Whalen]

office now, Peter, there are a lot of distractions in the office. There's the chatter among your colleagues, the meetings, the smell of fish in the office microwave, you know, stuff like that. Couldn't this be a tough decision for someone? It seems like there are a few things to weigh on both sides of this equation.

[Peter Capelli]

I think there are, you know, we're hearing this now even about school students who are working from home, taking classes from home, and some of them actually do better because they're not as distracted and they can focus a little more on their work. So, you know, a lot of it depends on what is your home situation really, like, how easy is it going to be for you to work from home? For some people, you know, it's a messy situation at home, and going to the office is actually a bit of a relief for them. Right. And it depends on whether everybody else is going to be working in the office and you're going to be the only one home that's not a great situation. And, you know, it also depends. What do you want to be doing with your time? Do you want to be living someplace where, you know, you really want to be able to spend a lot of time away from your desk?

[J.R. Whalen]

Right.

[Peter Capelli]

So there's a whole bunch of things to consider in addition to the basic ones, like, you know, how ambitious am I? Is this a job that I want simply to pay the rent and, you know, just do it and get on with my life, make my focus away from my work. If my focus is going to be my work and I'm not going to be in the office, that's probably not the greatest bet.

[J.R. Whalen]

All right, that's Professor Peter Capelli from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Peter, thanks for coming on the show.

[Peter Capelli]

Thank you.

[J.R. Whalen]

And that's your Money briefing. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal.

[Small Business Owner]

Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it.

[Retail Industry Representative]

Inflation is killing me, but who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill.

[Small Business Owner]

See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources

[Retail Industry Representative]

they need while increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they?

[Electronic Payments Coalition Spokesperson]

Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.