Since the official “shutdown” in 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been back to a semblance of normal in the business world; however, I’m not sure we’re all 100% back.

What I mean by that is, when I talk to different architects, they seem to be divided on working five days a week from the office or a hybrid work schedule. Depending on how much grey hair the person I’m talking to has, they are clear as to how they feel about the hybrid work schedule.

So why is the hybrid schedule still a thing?

Recently, I talked to a principal at a large architectural firm who told me that if his architects want to work a hybrid schedule, it wouldn’t hurt their career. But then, when it was time to reward architects with promotions, the architects who worked a hybrid schedule were passed over, and the architects who worked mainly from the office five days a week were promoted.

He added this really started an uproar with the architects passed over. He told one architect who worked a hybrid schedule that while it didn’t hurt you, it certainly didn’t help not being in the office as much as everyone else.

So, all that to say, I’m not sure you can have your cake and eat it too. It’s hard not to be in the office and be able to be trained, evaluated or mentored. Working from home is unique and unsuited for the newly hired employee. Speaking only of architects, how will they learn, how will they be measured and how will they be managed?

When the pandemic hit, the only way to work was remotely. Now, people think it’s still a productive option. For some, yes, it is an option, but for most professions, it’s not a productive option … not if you want to advance in your career.

I think that’s where the rubber meets the road. Do people still want to advance their careers? It seems there’s a growing number of people who want that work/life balance to be unbalanced, not tilting to the side of work.

Where is your work/life balance scale today…

My 2 cents.