Back in 2024 Chris Ellison founder and managing director of mining company MinRes was featured in several double page spreads in The Regressed (West) Australian newspaper stating firmly employees needed to be in the office not working remotely. He said he would provide what they need in the office and went out of his way to state his claims while the journos from The Regressed Australian soft-balled him.
Later it was revealed he had tax evasion issues. This is important as so often inept, incompetent, mediocre bosses lacking integrity are often the most ardent opposers of remote work for their subordinates. The need to eyeball staff and effectively stand over them out of insecurity and paranoia. The person who cannot lead by example of create a good work culture needs to wield a problematic form of control. This mostly demoralises a workforce and can result in productivity loss or simply compound existing productivity issues. These issues are conveniently blamed on the workers rather than shithouse leadership that sets the standard to follow.
I also had an experience with paranoid and insecure management while working at UNSW. The section I was working in was transitioning into predominantly IT operations and many existing admin staff appeared to have elbowed and inveigled their way into management jobs without really understanding what they were managing. When this happens bullying subordinates to achieve promised deadlines is often witnessed. Without understanding the challenges of their workers the manager has little guidance to offer. The NTEU said there was a substantial number of bullying complaints from this section of UNSW. This section of UNSW also outright refused remote work for staff and would eye4ball and harass staff like a foreman on a factory floor. Completely out of touch with the nature of modern software and system engineering work.
Neoliberalism and the job precarity it has brought sets a dog eat dog mentality that leads to poor team cohesion. Those still promoting the values of Neoliberalism are mired in a self deceit unprecedented in human history or simply have not worked in a typical consulting environment. It did not bring about efficiencies it brought about management jobs for friends with the resulting ineptitude. The incompetency was so bad in Canberra then when a certain manager attempted to perform some management adjacent duties the whole staff wished he hadn’t bothered. This was on account of him accidentally sending out a spreadsheet containing everyones rate of pay and charge out rates so the whole consultancy team of 40 onsite staff got to see what everyone else was getting paid…..
At was at this moment things took a dark turn in that office. They weren’t great prior but, the mood took a turn for the worse.
However, that is just one story amongst many in the book of Neoliberalism’s bad actors. Some proponents of Neoliberlism are also opponents of remote work but in today’s digital age most jobs are more effectively performed in a quiet harmonious environment of the home study compared to the numerous distractions found in the office. If we had good leadership that looks to set the example it follows, is consultative and transparent I doubt such leadership would be so insecure as to need people in the office 5 days a week so they could eyeball them. They would create a culture of trust to which their employees would respond positively.
For guidance:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team:
Lack of trust and lack of any display vulnerability is at the core of team dysfunction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75bO_XWk7fw
https://www.amazon.com.au/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756
Fabric of a Dream – The Fletcher Jones Story
Management that consults the workers prior to making a decision and gets their feedback so they feel invested in the decisions being made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En335Pz5-x8
