{"id":1941,"date":"2022-08-09T15:24:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T20:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/marketplacefaith\/?p=1941"},"modified":"2023-02-02T15:32:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T20:32:20","slug":"thinking-biblically-about-remote-vs-return-to-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/marketplacefaith\/2022\/08\/thinking-biblically-about-remote-vs-return-to-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking Biblically About Remote vs. Return to Office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\u201cDo you work remotely or are you back in the office?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question you\u2019ve likely been asked over and over during the past year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, an ongoing discussion is happening across America in small businesses and large corporations: where should we work now?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we tackle our fifth dilemma: \u201cShould I work from home or return to the office?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Current Trends<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Over the last 18 months, it has been assumed that employees have the upper hand in negotiating their working arrangements with their employers. Stanford reports that 50% are refusing to return to the office and managers don\u2019t know what to do about it.<\/u><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

With a \u201cwar for talent,\u201d companies are having to consider whether they can fill their talent gaps if they maintain a fully in-person work agreement. Workers are re-evaluating their priorities and job-hopping to remote opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our coaching practice, we encourage our clients to think through the job factors that will set them up to make their best contribution at work. In a recent session, \u201call remote\u201d was at the top of the client\u2019s list.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What Do We Know?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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  1. \n

    Work From Home (WFH) is an expectation: <\/strong>VOCA\u2019s 2021 study found that decisions regarding work from home ranked 5th in the top dilemmas people are facing at work. This issue would not have surfaced in 2019. It was not on the radar. Perhaps what is most noteworthy has to do with expectations. Employees believe they should get to decide where and when they work. Confident in their bargaining power, many say, \u201cIf a boss requires RTO, I\u2019ll look for a job that offers WFH.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Remote Work is not Going Away: <\/strong>Anecdotally, executives in our thought leaders\u2019 circle tell us that making hybrid and dispersed workforces possible is at the top of their lists. Other leaders across industries agree. Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, said we will never return to business as usual.<\/u><\/a> He suggested leaders need to adapt to this new reality. Knowledge workers have tasted the benefits of remote work and do not want to give them up.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    VOCA has a Bias: <\/strong>VOCA works as a distributed team with members in five states. We come together for donor appreciation events and client engagements. We deliver teaching, training, and coaching through hybrid formats. Some of our richest personal growth experiences have been hybrid.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Given all the background, how do we navigate the pull between these two poles: work from home vs. return to the office?<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Biblical Themes That Speak to This Dilemma<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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    1. \n

      Your Primary Call: <\/strong>As Christ-followers our primary call is to love and serve God, and love and serve our neighbors. We never just \u201cdo what we want.\u201d We ask, \u201cWhat does God want?\u201d We think through the implications of our choices on our neighbors, including our neighbors at work. What if you have a job where you can work from home but many of your colleagues do not? What might it look like to consider them?And as followers of Christ, who are here for his mission \u2014 to make disciples, i.e. contribute to the introduction and formation of other followers (see Matthew 28) \u2014 how does that impact our decisions? It would seem that retreating into a private, Christian work-from-home bubble might undermine the salt and light calling that God has on our lives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      Embodied Human Nature: <\/strong>Biblical writers don\u2019t separate a person from their body. Bodies are given God\u2019s breath of life (Genesis 1) and are means for worship (Romans 12:1-2). One might argue that to work virtually all the time, always looking through the two dimensions of a screen, somehow cuts us off from the full essence of our colleagues and ourselves.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      Relationships: <\/strong>The importance of family, local church, long-lasting friendships, and local neighbors\u2013all biblical mandates\u2013could arguably be better honored when we WFH. This is a key factor for those who value remote work: the increased flexibility to create boundaries around work and invest in important relationships, especially at home.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For most of human history, people have worked from home.<\/strong><\/u><\/a> Commuting as the norm is 100 years old. Are we getting back to better roots? Is there a multidimensional benefit to the WFH movement? <\/span><\/p>\n

      Every model has its tradeoff. If WFH is better than RTO for home and community life, how do we make up for the loss at work? And how do we navigate the in-between? How can you, in your own context, discern your options and contribute in a meaningful way?<\/span><\/p>\n

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      Biblical Wisdom<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      1. Honor Your Team and Teammates: <\/strong>\u201cInsofar as it is possible, to the extent it depends on you, live in peace with all men\u201d(Romans 12:18). <\/span><\/p>\n