Sean Lewis, the CEO of Vallia Energy, stared at the message screen on his phone and prayed for three little dots.
Case Study: Should Some Employees Be Allowed to Work Remotely Even If Others Can’t?
An Oklahoma-based energy company grapples with its return-to-office plan.
Summary.
More than 3,000 office workers at an oil and gas company in Oklahoma City have been telecommuting since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of them love the arrangement, and the freedom to work remotely is also a big draw for new hires. But there are downsides: Employees who have to be on-site in the oil fields and on drilling rigs are resentful; collaboration and knowledge transfer are more challenging; costly office space is going unused; and local businesses are suffering because of the emptiness of the downtown core. The company’s CEO must decide: Should we mandate a return to the office for everyone? This fictional case study features expert commentary by Logitech’s Bracken Darrell and Spotify’s Katarina Berg.
A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2023 issue of Harvard Business Review.