We’ve been told we need to come back into the office every day of the week.

I am, as are a lot of my colleagues, so disappointed with this decision. We work in an industry that is well-suited to working from home. At least a dozen colleagues I’ve spoken with say their work has clearly improved during hybrid work arrangements. They are getting tasks done more quickly and enjoying spending more time with family. A few managers have said they’ve noticed the same increase in quality and productivity.

It’s clear the vast majority of this organisation’s workforce is happier and better in their jobs working some part of the week from home. Why would our employer change that?

A blanket everyone-back-to-work policy is rarely a judicious move, especially when so many employees are content with the existing policy.Credit: John Shakespeare

I asked Dr Chad Chiu about your question. He’s an associate professor in leadership at the University of Adelaide and, with his colleagues, has undertaken extensive research on working from home. In a recent article they discussed the fact that your positive experience is not unusual.

“Working from home is linked to increased individual productivity, greater job satisfaction and reduced turnover intention. The findings suggest that companies can take advantage of remote work as long as they have the necessary support, like well-defined guidelines for virtual interactions,” he says.

As to why an employer would change a system that offers such benefits and seems to be working well, Chiu said there are likely a few factors influencing their decision. Perhaps the most important is what kind of job the person working from home has. In their research, the team has used two broad categories: stars and guardians.

Working from home isn’t a simple question and it doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Star jobs are evaluated based on the number of successful cases. Guardian jobs are judged based on the number of failures,” Chiu explains.

He says a star is a bit like a forward in a soccer team. They are judged on the number of goals they score; the number of shots they miss is less important. Star jobs include salesperson and R&D professional.