Work Performance Doesn’t Depend on Where Work Is Done
I’ve stopped counting how many times I’ve heard a leader say, “We need people back in the office to protect our culture.” I’ve also stopped counting how many times employees have told me, “I’m great at my job. I don’t have to be in an office every day to show that. Haven’t we proven that remote works?”
Both groups share these “truths” with the same intensity someone uses to defend their favorite sports team. And both believe they’re absolutely right.
Welcome to modern work, my friends, where how we work has become just as emotionally loaded as why we work.
Let me start with my take on the subject: Remote, hybrid, and on-site do not constitute work culture. They’re conditions like weather patterns. And just like the weather, you can plan for it. (Or, say, pretend you don’t live in Minnesota and act surprised when the snow shows up in October. But maybe that’s just me.)
The real story—the one leaders keep overlooking—is that company planning and response to work arrangements shape your culture far more than the arrangement itself.
If a company approaches remote work with suspicion, you get a culture of policing and paranoia. If a team manages hybrid work with unclear rules (or worse, keeps changing them or hinting that the rules might change), employees stop trusting the entire system. And if an organization treats on-site work like a loyalty test, people will start quietly planning their exit like they’re in the final season of a long-running sitcom.
Across industries and company sizes, I’ve seen the same pattern: Your work model may be revealing uncomfortable truths about your leadership model:
- Remote shines a spotlight on communication and trust gaps.
- Hybrid exposes inequities and inconsistent expectations.
- On-site reveals whether the in-person experience is actually worth the commute.
Employees don’t need perfection; they need clarity. Many employees are trying to figure out how work fits into the rest of their very real lives—elder care, health needs, passions, community, and the dog who refuses to understand corporate schedules.
If a company says, “We’re flexible,” but the reality is “We’re flexible … within the confines of these eight rigid rules,” employees hear that loud and clear. That is your company reality.
Leaders, if your hybrid plan is “Come in when it feels right,” that is … not a plan. It’s a recipe for confusion. Set clear expectations, articulate the purpose of on-site time, and be consistent. “We come in Wednesdays for collaboration on X” is far better than “I just like seeing people.”
If you’re leading a remote team, you can’t rely on 1997 communication habits. You need to overcommunicate, get crisp on priorities, and build intentional connection. Please don’t wait until the quarterly meeting to give feedback like it’s a holiday card.
Employees: You can’t join a company and then be shocked that they expect you to follow the work arrangement they advertised.
And on-site leaders, if your best pitch for returning to the office is “We have snacks,” you have set the bar too low. Your on-site experience must feel and actually be meaningful: access, collaboration, mentorship, clarity, energy—not just a vending machine glow-up.
Employees, your turn: You can’t join a company and then be shocked that they expect you to follow the work arrangement they advertised. If the job is on-site, hybrid, or remote, that’s the deal. You get to decide if it fits your life, but you don’t get to rewrite their policy because you don’t feel like commuting.
Your power is in choosing the environment that aligns with your needs, not negotiating yourself into a custom arrangement the company never offered.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth for all of us: The workplace has changed, but many of our expectations haven’t. We’re trying to navigate new models with old mindsets, and the math is not mathing.
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The organizations that will thrive are the ones treating work arrangements as design challenges, not battlegrounds. They’ll articulate clear principles, communicate decisions transparently, train leaders to lead humans (not just headcount), and create intentional, equitable experiences.
The future of work isn’t remote versus hybrid versus on-site. The future of work is how we lead each other through change.
And that, thankfully, is something we can all influence.
