... rather than return to the office says managers are threatened by remote work and just want people back so they can see them working
Dennis said that he thinks the only people who fully fail at remote work are those who went to meetings in person, walked around with a piece of paper, and looked busy — but weren't actually getting much done. But self-starters and motivated people with goals can excel with remote work.
But remote work also calls into question the purpose of a boss, he said. A boss's model, whether they voice it aloud, is to make sure their employees get work done. And so those employees have to be there, in front of them, so the bosses can ensure they're working.
"It's almost, 'If I don't see you working, then I don't have anything to do. What's my purpose?'" Dennis said. "So, I think that's the main driver of bringing people back."
With the pandemic, the remote-work genie is out of the bag, Dennis said. At his old job, higher-ups once doled out remote work as a reward. Now, there's a "bunch of people" who know they don't need to be in the office to do productive work.
And that's going to lead to a reckoning for bosses.
"The managers, especially the mid-level managers, still are going to want to see people. That's kind of justification for their job," he said. "If everybody can work remote, it's a new model for the manager."