'Hybrid Work Model Is An Illusion,' Former Facebook Director Speaks In Favour Of Remote Work

As soon as the pandemic-induced lockdowns began to loosen up around the globe in the 'new normal' world post-COVID, the trend of hybrid work models quickly gained popularity.

And even as companies across the world are still juggling to find the right answer between returning to the office, working from home, and the hybrid model, a former senior employee at Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook has given her opinion.

Former Facebook director not in favour of hybrid work model

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As per Annie Dean, who was the 'director of remote work' at Meta (then Facebook), the hybrid model isn¡¯t actually an even split between remote and in-office work, despite bosses who insist it¡¯s a huge step forward.

Like its peers, Meta adopted a remote work policy early in the pandemic and hired Dean to execute on it. Now, like its peers, it¡¯s reversed course by mandating three days per week in the office in support of its "year of efficiency." Zuckerberg said while Meta is "committed to distributed work," he hopes employees "find more opportunities to work with your colleagues in person."

"Hybrid is an illusion of choice"

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Dean is not tempted by the promises of greater efficiency, connection, and innovation that bosses at other tech giants like Amazon, Alphabet, and Salesforce insist the office will bring. At her current company, Atlassian, any kind of in-office mandate is off the table.

¡°Hybrid is an illusion of choice,¡± Dean said. Mandatory office attendance, which Dean calls ¡°the crux¡± of hybrid plans, is more sinister than it looks, and most workers don¡¯t acknowledge how central they are. By mandating any amount of time in the office, companies remove many potential benefits for the employee ¡°and much of the benefit for the company.¡±

Many bosses may disagree, pointing to sizable evidence that some workers¡ªespecially new hires or young workforce entrants¡ªperform better when they can come to the office and learn by osmosis, as per a Fortune report.

Also, Dean understands why so many companies have insisted on some days of in-person attendance, and she doesn¡¯t cast those aside. ¡°I don¡¯t think the desire to bring people back is just about power and control,¡± she says. ¡°You have to imagine there are people in boardrooms looking at very expensive office leases. I have empathy for how they approach this. Boards are saying, ¡®you¡¯re wasting so much money, you have to bring people in.¡¯ And bosses don¡¯t have a good argument for why they shouldn¡¯t.¡±

Also Read: IBM CEO Warns Employees Against Working From Home

"Remote is the only option that gives a choice"

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Many employees feel more productive working from home¡ªor at least having the choice to do so. Beyond just the lifestyle benefits (no commute, no sad desk lunch, no fancy office wardrobe), they actually get paid nearly 10% more. To Dean, being able to choose a city to live in¡ªespecially these days, when rent and property values are astronomical¡ªis perhaps the primary perk of remote work. "A lot of the advantage of (her current company) Atlassian¡¯s model is that people can live near their family in a place with a lower cost of living. They can stay nearer to their home and receive their kids off the bus."

The shift in quality of life when moving into an office-centric role is "deeply impactful for women in particular," Dean adds. (Women, on whom much of household and child care responsibilities disproportionately fall, prefer remote work in much greater numbers than men.) But fully flexible arrangements, like Team Anywhere, "just appear to be a healthier, happier way to live."

Also Read: Americans Working From Home Saved 60 Million Hours Of Office Commute Time During Pandemic: Research

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