McKinsey & Co ‘Reviewing’ its Remote Work Approach

McKinsey & Co, the planet’s biggest management consulting firm, has told staff in North America that it is reviewing how the company will approach remote working.

With its global workforce of over 40,000 people, a senior partner at McKinsey wrote to staff to tell them that its expectations would be renewed and emphasized the benefits of colleagues “spending time in person” with one another.

With some major companies – Amazon and Dell for example – ending remote work and requiring a full time return to office while others, such as Microsoft, are persevering with a hybrid model, the jury remains hung as to the most productive approach for companies following the COVID pandemic.

“Renewed Set of Expectations”

McKinsey’s potential push towards more hours in the office was reported by Bloomberg (paywall), with company executives reinforcing rhetoric from town hall staff meetings with a memo to staff in North America on Tuesday.

Eric Kutcher, Senior Partner and Chair for McKinsey in North America and the Bay Area, wrote a memo to staff that said the company will “define a renewed set of expectations” around the time employees spend in the office.

He specifically emphasized, however, that there were no plans at present to establish a new company “policy” in this regard.

“Our approach will balance the best of in-person apprenticeship and connectivity with what we have learned over the past few years.” – Eric Kutcher, McKinsey & Co

Stronger Client Impact?

In a further statement, Kutcher said: “We know that spending time in person — in client team rooms and in our offices — leads to better apprenticeship, stronger client impact, more innovation and a stronger social fabric.”

Studies, however, reveal the mixed results seen by both companies and individuals.

There are plenty of statistics that prove return to office (RTO) mandates don’t work, and it’s been seen that remote workers are happier than office dwellers.

But other research has shown that flexible working is harming social aspects of the workplace, with 78% of survey respondents saying that it negatively impacts office culture. While a further study suggests that working from home decreases innovation.

Amazon vs Microsoft

That’s all food for thought for companies like McKinsey as it finesses staff working arrangements. Many companies are making their own response to the research and internal performance, but a recent KPMG survey of 1,300 CEOs shows that the majority expect a full RTO in the next three years.

A number of big players have already got ahead of the punch in that respect. Elon Musk is well known for enforcing RTO at his companies, while September saw Amazon announce the end of hybrid work and Dell demand staff return to the office five days a week.

Conversely, it has been reported that Microsoft won’t force a five day RTO, with staff being told that it would do whatever is necessary to make its staff feel “more engaged, more productive, and more connected”.