Griffin on Tech: Hybrid working is about trust, not mandatory office time

Telecommunications provider One NZ has bought a bizarre fight with staff over its desire for them to return to the office for at least three days a week, up from two days under its previous policy.

One’s small cohort of 112 unionised employees are pushing back against the edict, with the Unite Union in mediation with One NZ on this issue and an unresolved pay claim. One NZ is a digital-first company that benefitted from the massive move to remote working in 2020 with the arrival of Covid-19. 

The pandemic saw hundreds of thousands of call centre workers around the world give up their cubicle farms for a headset and laptop at home and many of them are still there, happily taking calls and delivering great customer service. It allows them to avoid the stressful daily commute and find a better work-life balance.

So why is One requiring its staff, including its own call centre workers, to turn up to the office three days a week?

“Some teams felt it was difficult to foster team culture, support personal development and build connections across the business when people are working remotely and bringing team members together in person for at least three days a week helps with that but also retains the flexibility we know people value,” One NZ spokesman Conor Roberts told the Herald.

Every organisation is different and has to find its own way of working. But a push for mandatory hybrid work requirements isn’t the way to get the best out of a workforce. If a group of employees has to be physically together in an office building at least three days a week to be effective and feel part of a team in the modern digital work environment, something deeper may be wrong - a lack of trust in employees.

The pandemic broke our office-centric culture. That was actually a good thing. What does it matter where your staff work, as long as they are hitting their goals? Despite the flurry of stories about Big Tech companies requiring staff to return to the office, flexible working arrangements are still the default setting for many in the tech industry because they work. People in this industry are drawn to the flexibility to be able to work wherever they want. It brings out the best in them.

Many of them are more effective and productive working in their own environment, meeting up with colleagues and customers as and when required to collaborate, share ideas, and build the team spirit. More importantly, they like having the autonomy to decide their style of working.

One NZ needs to understand that a company’s culture comes from the employees themselves. Trusting them to organise among themselves where and when to work in the office is likely to yield better results. 

The shine comes off the Vision Pro

When Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset was first introduced to journalists last June, it was met with gushing reviews heaping praise on the device as a category defining piece of kit. The problem was that all of those early reviewers had tightly controlled access to the Vision Pro - typically demonstrations lasting a maximum of 30 minutes.

Now that the Vision Pro is on sale in the US for that eyewatering price of US$3,500, many people have spent enough time with the Vision Pro to see it in a different light. Yes, most acknowledge, it is an incredible accomplishment from Apple, a design triumph. But the more forthright reviews suggest its some way from fulfilling Apple’s for a category defining device that revolutionises how we interact with digital content. 

“After using the headset for about five days, I’m unconvinced that people will get much value from it,” the New York TImes concluded.

“In its current state, the Vision Pro is an impressive but incomplete first-generation product with problems and big trade-offs. Other than being a fancy personal TV, it lacks purpose,” reviewer Brian X. Chen wrote.

The Verge’s Nilay Patel found much to like in the Vision Pro but a major drawback:

“You’re supposed to wear this thing on your face for long stretches of computer time, and depending on which band and light seal you use, the headset alone weighs between 600 and 650 grams. I keep joking that the Vision Pro is an iPad for your face, but it’s heavier than an 11-inch iPad Pro (470 grams) and pushing close to a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (682 grams), so in a very real way, it’s an iPad for your face,” he wrote.

So Apple clearly has work to do, even as it has set a new benchmark for headset design. It’s just good to finally see some objective critiques after last year’s early fan boy reports generated by Apple’s carefully stage managed launch.