THE Real Stakes OF THE “Future of Work” DEBATE

As companies and employees decide how, when, and where they should work in a post-pandemic world, let’s not forget this overlooked fact: If you harm your company culture, your customers will feel the impact.

- ERIC SOLOMON and CATHY CARTIER

We had a group of friends over for dinner the other day, and the conversation turned to work, as it sometimes does. “I can’t wait to go back to the office,” said one friend, who works at a technology company. “No way,” said another, who works at a midsize law firm. “I’ll quit if they make me go back.”

“Well,” piped in a friend who leads a customer experience team, “I think what we really need is flexibility. I’m exhausted. My team is exhausted. I know our customers can tell, and it’s starting to hurt the business.”

Our friends around the table nodded. This, we realized, was the real stakes of the debate. People have spent the past year and a half arguing over whether remote work would remain permanent, but that has largely ignored a more existential question. This isn’t just an issue of how people work—it’s that the way people work impacts their customers, and whether those customers stay loyal.

We are two former CMOs for very different organizations— Eric has overseen marketing at consumer-facing companies such as Bonobos, and Cathy for localities such as the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. We understand the complexity that surrounds brand perception, and we believe that the health of a company’s internal culture is one of the most important factors. This should add a new dynamic to the conversation we’re all having about work—because the decisions companies make today will define their culture, and therefore their relationship with their customers, for years to come.