Remote Work Triggering “Productivity Paranoia” Among Managers

▤ Summary

That is the unpleasant picture captured by Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index Pulse report, which revealed two categorically different viewpoints: • 89 percent of managers do not have confidence that their employees are productive away from the office. What these trends suggest is that in order to fend off managers who want to call them back into the office, remote workers are continuously trying to “look like” they are working, instead of actually doing productive work — a phenomenon that has been identified by author Anne Helen Petersen as LARP-ing or “live action role-playing” their jobs. This means putting an end to anxiously stressing over whether remote workers are actually working enough, and playing a positive role in helping them prioritize their tasks and optimize their time; a strategy that doubtlessly includes dialing back tedious and (ironically) counter-productive meetings for the sake of meetings. “Employees have embraced flexible work and its benefits and are rejecting a return to hustling culture,” commented Colette Stallbaumer, General Manager of Microsoft 365. In this new world of work, it’s the job of every leader to balance employee interests with the success of the organization, and that means aligning everyone around the most impactful work.​”

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