I ask my students to think about familiar brands, such as Coke, Mercedes, Target, and McDonalds. Some branded logos are very prominent in our minds. Using the concept that products are branded, people may develop a personal and professional brand to market their best qualities and qualifications for career management, including job search, looking at lateral moves, making career transitions, seeking promotions, securing new clients, or seeking a committee or association leadership role. 

When coaching my clients to develop a brand, I begin by asking many questions. Diane’s Query System is a critical career coaching proficiency – that, when mastered – will coach clients to new revelations in the career management journey. Questions are part of the intelligence collection process, exploration, and discovery. Asking pertinent, open-ended questions is a key skill in career coaching. In the CPCC program, I ask my clients to define their purpose, values, motivational factors, and goals. 

• What differentiates you from others in your field? What makes you unique? What positive impact do you provide an employer? (Why does someone call you instead of the other experts in this field?)
• Together, we make an extensive list of differentiating factors and their impact on employers.
• What makes you memorable? (What is your passion; what makes people want to contact you repeatedly? What makes people want to hang out with you and listen to you?)
• We brainstorm and list my client’s most memorable characteristics.
• What makes you credible? (What is your track record? Where and what are the proof and metrics?)
• We review my client’s track record for the past several years and list all the significant achievements. This also begins the story development process for developing the résumé, social media profiles, and the interview process. 
• What makes you visible? (How are you more visible than your colleagues? What makes you different that puts you ahead of them?)
• Looking at my client’s competition and colleagues, we compare essential and desirable traits by employers.
• What value do you offer an employer? (This is a difficult question for many clients – as many people do not know how to answer it – but it must be addressed.)
• I ask my client to describe the value he/she offers an employer, like saving money, making money, solving problems, team leadership, program launch, and more. What are the most compelling value statements? 
• What is your area of expertise? What compels someone to call you? If someone calls you – and they ask, “Can you help me with _______________________?” (It might be about solving an issue concerning engineering, nursing, organizational development, addressing and resolving team dynamics, providing conflict coaching, providing guidance concerning leadership development, mediation, or legal matters. You might be an analytical person, a money-maker, or a decision-maker. You might be a subject matter expert in your field of expertise.)
• I also ask my client to describe his expertise. We list all the times people (customers, leaders, competitors) call my client to ask a question. We create a list of themes and focus on the themes and patterns to guide the brand development
• What does your brand stand for? (What are you an ambassador for? What is your personality – and how does that affect your brand?)
• These questions help my client pull the lists and responses from all the above questions into one. From this conglomeration, we identify all the similar patterns and themes and prioritize them in order of significance and prominence to develop the brand statement.

Prominent products and services are branded to communicate their differentiators and attract customers and clients. As job seekers begin to define and design their brand via personal branding, I coach my clients to learn how to best communicate, articulate, and convey their individual value proposition—that differentiating factor. The value proposition is used on my clients’ résumés, social media profiles, interviews, and the job. It goes where they go, and it represents them. 

To solidify the branding statement and create an actual “branded” image in the minds of potential employers, customers, reviewers/recruiters/hiring managers, and human resources professionals on social media or on résumés, clients can develop branded logos or looks. They may use a specific color, picture, or logo on a résumé or social media platform.  This look, color, and feel should accompany the written brand and create a seamless look through all written materials. 

Literal branding is a mark that is burned or frozen on the skin (yikes). However, that visual can be burned into one’s mind—just like Nike, Apple, or Columbia are universally recognized brands. We can even just see a glimpse of these branded logos, and we can recall the brand.  

• Nike’s brand statement: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” *If you have a body, you are an athlete.
• Apple: “To contribute to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.”
• Coca-Cola’s brand statement: “To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit and inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions.”
• Disney’s brand statement: “To entertain, inform, and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling.”

When writing the brand statement, avoid generalities and jargon. Instead, be specific. Offer numbers and impact/value. Include personality if appropriate, e.g., emphatic, emotional intelligence, wisdom, or other. Coach your clients to craft an indelible personal branding statement in the mind of the reader or hearer. 

The ultimate goal is long-term personal brand loyalty!

The post What Differentiates You? appeared first on PARWCC.

I look at four primary areas for this evaluation/inventory of business success, as well as any changes needed. In proper coaching form, I will pose several questions to help you evaluate your career coaching business, whether as a solopreneur or within a career services office/center:

• What went well?
• What did not go well?
• What are the gaps?
• What were your personal successes? 

These four areas will help you identify how to adjust your business, collaborate better with your clients/client population, create new goals or adjust goals, and/or shift operations within a career services office. 

Begin by making a list of the primary areas of services and products. From this list, determine which services and products made money and which services and products reduced income or caused frustration for clients (or you) in the past year. Also, consider time, not just costs:

• How much money did you invest in advertising, website management or development, office equipment and supplies, professional development including education/training/certifications/conferences (including travel), administrative support, bookkeeping and accounting, sub-contractors (1099) or employees (W-2), medical insurance, legal services, 401K/retirement savings, credit card processing, bank fees, rent or mortgage, Internet, smart phone, business loans, liability insurance, utilities, business entertainment, car lease/or expenses, and other specific expenses your business requires? Did you save for taxes?
• Which services and products created the most significant income/Return on Investment (ROI)? 
• For example, did you sell more résumés or more interview coaching packages? 
• Do any of your services cost you money (e.g., a sub-contract résumé writer who received a percentage of the fee you charged the client)? If so, how much? Subtract the expenses from your income – that is your ROI. 
• Are there ways to cut expenses? Like switching from a personal bookkeeper to QuickBooks or a similar product or comparing the cost of insurance or Internet providers to see if one might be less expensive.
• Do you need a bookkeeper and a virtual assistant? Can one do both jobs?
• Do you need a website manager and a branding expert? Or can one do both jobs? 
• Did you pay for advertising? What was your ROI after paying for the advertising or funnel campaigns? Does the money need to be reinvested in the same advertising or shifted to a different advertising or marketing program? 
• Is there a product or service that is burning you out? If so, is it a top money maker? If it is not a top money maker – maybe it is time to retire that service or product. If it is a top money maker, you might consider hiring a sub to work on projects that burn you out. 
• Did you experience any crises or circumstances that were unplanned or caused business troubles? 
• What did not go well? Can you adjust these areas? For example, oftentimes, new businesses take on any client population to generate income. If you enjoy working with college graduates and you find yourself working with mid-level professionals, you may want to reevaluate. 
• Are you comfortable coaching mid-level professionals, or do you need to niche your coaching services to only one client population? For example, a new In-n-Out Burger opened in Boise this week. The lines were hundreds of cars long. Their long-term success comes from specializing in one thing: burgers. They have not diversified – like other establishments that offer burgers, chicken, ribs, salads, etc. The same goes for Chick-fil-A. They serve one thing: chicken. Each company specializes, and they each do it well enough to be long-lasting, growing, and popular. 
• Did you end up with an unexpected, substantial tax burden at the end of the year? If so, congratulations! – that means you made a lot of money. However, it also means that you need to save 30% of every dollar, no matter what, to be prepared for such contingencies. 
• Figure out how many hours a week you are working and compare that to your income. Are you making an adequate salary / hourly wage – or did you find that you worked 80s per week only to make $10 an hour?

The overall inventory of your products, services, and programs that went well in 2024 and things that did not go so well should expose any gaps, e.g., the need to save money for taxes and contingencies; adjust funds for advertising into another area; consider niching the client population; decide only to write résumés, provide interview coaching, provide job search coaching with an action plan and assessment tool; and more. 

For Career Service Centers and Solopreneurs: 

• Take an inventory of the products and services that worked for your clients. Did you offer too many products and services, which may have overwhelmed them? 
• Did you offer enough services and products to ensure career management success?
• What requests do you receive the most, e.g., résumé writing, assessment testing, interview coaching, onboarding planning, salary negotiations, career direction, LinkedIn profile writing, etc.? Keep an ongoing list to determine which products are the best to provide. 
• Do you need to develop specific tip sheets or guides to assist your clients in their job searches?
• Have you worked with your team to create systems to ensure clients return for sessions and complete homework? 

One way to help determine client career success is to send a survey and ask about progress. Questions may include:

• What services did you receive from our office?

• How many résumés did you circulate?

• Where did you circulate your résumés? 

• How did you engage in networking?

• How many interviews did you engage in?

• How many offers did you receive?

• Did you receive a promotion?

• Did your salary increase?

• Did you attain your career and work-life balance goals? Describe?

• How would you adjust your career management action plan for the next job search?

Personal Accomplishments

In good coaching form, don’t forget to congratulate yourself on a job well done. Identify the goals you attained in 2024. Look back and see how far you have moved forward. Even if it is baby steps, it is progress. 

• Did you make more money? 
• Did you implement a new program/product/service for your career services offerings? 
• Did you complete a training or certification?
• Did you obtain a new degree?
• Did you check off your goals to see how much you accomplished from the year before?
• Did you have a new baby? Get married? Have a grandchild? Take a bucket-list vacation?

Give yourself credit!

In 2025, reflect on 2024. Conduct a thorough inventory of your company or career services office. Identify the best of the best and eliminate those that do not work well, are less profitable, or cause burnout. Create your action plan to adjust your services for 2025 and beyond—and add in new ideas like writing a book or starting a podcast and personal goals like getting fit or saving for a bucket-list vacation. 

I wish you a New Year filled with career success, health, happiness, and prosperity! – Diane

The post 2024 Reflections appeared first on PARWCC.

Operations at the North Pole have grown exponentially over the years requiring more and more maintenance and repairs for equipment, facilities, Santa’s sled, and operations. Santa also needed more help for decorations of the North Pole including lights, holiday displays, and placing the star on the holiday tree in the center courtyard of the Campus. Over time, the team experienced many injuries as the Elves had to climb tall ladders to perform the maintenance.

Santa decided to hire a Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager to take over the job the Elves tried to accomplish. This would free the Elves to focus on their specific jobs of toy making, wrapping, baking, packing, and other tasks while preventing injuries. 

I spoke with Santa to develop the position description and job requisition order to place on LinkedIn and Indeed. We decided that the new Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager needed to be a licensed electrician and be at least six feet or much taller. We also decided that after hiring and onboarding this Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager we would then hire a Facilities & Equipment Maintenance team to support the new manager. 

By putting on my coaching hat I asked Santa several questions to accurately craft the perfect position description for our new Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager. My questions included specific position responsibilities, cultural requirements, particular qualifications, and education/certifications. 

The Grinch and I then drafted the position description and listing:

JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT / POSITION DESCRIPTION

Reference Code: Operation FIXTOY

Job Title: Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager 

Location: North Pole

Position Description:

Santa is seeking a Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager professional with a passion for overseeing large-scale and multi-faceted operations. We need a professional to keep the North Pole toy making, gift wrapping, reindeer facilities, the Campus facilities, and more running like a well-oiled machine. 

This position is on-site at the North Pole and requires a manager who appreciates cold weather, snow, and ice. The Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager will need to appreciate the joy of the holidays, and have a passion for on-schedule toy delivery services globally while serving thousands of Elves working at the North Pole.

Desirable Qualifications: More than 6 feet tall

Position Responsibilities

• Supervise the daily activities of multi-disciplinary teams of electricians, plumbers (HVAC) and custodial workers to maintain and repair grounds, reindeer pastures, enclosures and training facilities, Santa’s sleigh, the toy shops, baking facilities and kitchens, and other facilities. 
• Schedule and assign duties in carpentry, electrical, painting, plumbing, heating / ventilating, lighting, decorating, and roofing for the Toy Making, Gift Wrapping, Decorating, Cooking Baking, and other operations facilities.
• Routinely inspect buildings, sites, and equipment for needed repair and respond to emergency maintenance requests from Elves or Santa as required.
• Work with vendors as needed and oversee execution of contracted services.
• Maintain records and prepare reports for management review, including work orders.

Minimum Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent. Bachelor’s degree preferred
• 5+ years of hands-on management or leadership experience in high-volume manufacturing and distribution centers
• Experience with mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), landscaping, HVAC, and electrical systems
• Licensed Electrician
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills. Communicate with management team regularly (Santa, the Grinch, Rudolph, and Operational Directors)
• Manage heights and ladders well
• Appreciate extremely cold weather – below -20 Fahrenheit 

Sweet Benefits, Perks & Stocking Options

• All expenses paid Santa’s sleigh ride to home of origin for 3-month R&R from January to March
• 401(k) with 8% employer match. Multiple bonus programs, including profit sharing
• Lodging and meals including Gingerbread, Candy Canes, and Mrs. Claus’ cookies and hot cocoa
• Nightly display of colorful flickering lights dancing across the sky
• Classes in Time Travel
• Flying Reindeer Rides
• Gym membership
• One annual dental cleaning
• On-site fitness center and beautifully maintained walking paths across the frozen tundra
• Tuition Assistance Program that covers professional continuing education

We received scores of résumés including the résumé from Bumble – The Abominable Snow Monster of the North. Since we knew that he had a previous relationship with Rudolph and Rudolph recommended Bumble, we decided to interview him. His résumé was impressive and the Grinch and I asked several questions to further validate his expertise and experience. 

• Why do you want to be a Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager for the North Pole?
• What is your main area of expertise?
• You are currently living in a different country – are you okay with moving to the North Pole? 
• What will happen if you become the Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager and you do not like it or feel like you do not fit in the role?
• Are you a micromanager? Why or why not?
• How do you motivate others? Provide an example. 
• What does team player mean to you? Provide an example.
• How do you resolve conflict? Provide an example.
• Describe your ability to multi-task and meet specific deadlines. Provide an example. 
• What do you value most in a job? Provide an example.
• What do you believe makes a successful leader? Provide an example.
• What value can you bring to Santa’s operations by being the Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager? Provide an example.
• What questions do you have for us?

Bumble was very honest in his responses and explained that held a high level position for another company – but the company’s mission was not his passion. He believed that working with the Elves, Rudolph, and Santa to make and deliver toys to children globally and prosper the mission of goodwill would meet with his values and motivational factors. He also explained that his height and ability to bounce and be soft and fluffy would bring great value to the North Pole and the Elves. He also explained that his knowledge of maintaining highly specialized equipment like wind tunnels, arc jets, high bays, vertical motion simulators, and other similar complex, technical assets would benefit time travel and Santa’s sleigh operations. 

He did bring some Diane’s Whole-Person Theory issues to the discussions, where he described the situation where he was considered an angry monster when he had a previous run-in with Rudolph. It, however, did get resolved. (For background on The Abominable Snow Monster of the North, he was the villain in Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but has reformed and is a friend of Rudolph. The Abominable Snow Monster of the North is a giant yeti and the main antagonist in the 1964 Rankin/Bass special Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In the 2001 sequel, he is Yukon Cornielius’ bumbling sidekick. Yukon calls him Bumble.)

Santa, the Grinch, and I deliberated on the hiring of Bumble and agreed he would make a wonderful new additional to the North Pole leadership team. In our offer letter to Bumble, Santa invited him to put the star on the holiday tree in the Campus courtyard as his first assignment – to demonstrate joy and team unity to the Elves. 

Best wishes for a very joyous holiday season and prosperous New Year – Diane

The Abominable Snow Monster (Bumble)

of the North | 000-222-555 | bumble@gmail.com

Target: North Pole Facilities & Equipment Maintenance Manager 

QUALIFICATIONS

Licensed Electrician | HVAC | Facilities & Equipment Maintenance and Management | Sustainability | Environment Management | Planning | Budgeting | Strategic Infrastructure | Customer Satisfaction | Capital Improvements | Facility Engineering Level 2 Certification | Project Management Professional (PMP) | Building Modernization 

• Reach tall heights. Climb tall ladders. Able to place the star on the holiday tree – due to my height
• Bounce – soft and fluffy – an extra bonus when Elves fall from tall ladders

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Chief, Facilities Engineering and Real Property Division | Mountains of Asia | forever to present

Direct a staff of 42 personnel and 500+ contractors. Manage engineering support operations. Provide oversight leadership for a Campus of 3,000 acres and 5.1 million square feet of facilities worth more than $4.5 Billion. Oversee engineering analysis, design, construction, Campus maintenance, grounds care, energy conservation, minor construction, facility planning, facility utilization, real property management, and more. Direct the development and execution of building modernization initiatives supporting energy efficiency, sustainability, and tenant satisfaction.

Maintain and repair highly specialized equipment and infrastructure that provides technical capabilities such as wind tunnels, arc jets, high bays, vertical motion simulators, and other similar complex, technical assets. 

Key Leadership Initiatives & Accomplishments 

• Chaired the Research Center Facility Utilization Review Board. Revised the format and instituted an action tracker that held leaders and project officers accountable for meeting their deadlines and tracking progress on initiatives. 
• Led major initiatives including multi-million-dollar renovations of historic buildings, relocation of the motor pool, and identifying the location for the new multi-million-dollar Engineering Services Building.
• Constantly look for new and innovative ways to make facilities management more efficient, cost effective and satisfactory to customers. Introduce industry best practices to improve management practices. 
• Led the planning and execution of the Lean Six Sigma Kaizen Blitz Week. Led teams to introduce improvement and savings including a 40% reduction in set up time for water cooled test articles and 50% reduction in set up time for non-water-cooled test articles for the Aerodynamic Heating Facility (AHF) model installation and alignment.
• Engaged staff in a way that empowered them and created a culture of innovation and individual ownership that will have long range benefits for the future wellbeing of the complex.
• Changed the way shipping containers were purchased and placed on the Campus preventing them from becoming habitable space. The resulting inventories identified and disposed of hazardous materials that were being improperly stored in the containers. 

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• BS in Engineering 
• Licensed Electrician 
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Facility Engineering Level 2 Certification

The post Santa’s New Operations & Maintenance Manager appeared first on PARWCC.

The updated materials include an expanded section on salary negotiations, a specific section on workplace and group coaching, additional coaching scenarios and career transition requirements, more career coaching questions with expanded coaching proficiencies, executive leadership competencies and coaching, coaching for COVID-related/other emergent issues, including working from home, and more. There are several new résumé samples, two new case studies with résumés, and a review of job announcements and résumés for gathering keywords and messages for résumé and LinkedIn profile development. 

Beginning in 2025, I will include a live component to the CPCC program for students who desire to engage in live coaching sessions by delving into the coaching proficiencies, practicing the coaching proficiencies with Diane and other participants, preparing career management action plans for clients, and developing a coaching program. This live component will be offered quarterly – so students can begin the CPCC program at any time and join the quarterly calls as their schedules permit during the 12-month completion time.  The live practice coaching sessions will help career coaches build confidence as they learn the career coaching proficiencies, skills, strategies, and tools.  

The live sessions will allow participants to ask questions focused on client scenarios and current client issues, and enable participants to engage and practice career coaching skills. 

We will also include time for Q&A to cover some of the most often asked questions from CPCC participants including:

My client did not complete his homework. What can I do to get him to complete his homework?

• There are a couple of things you can do to prompt a client to complete homework. Begin the sessions with a service agreement whereby the client agrees to submit homework promptly. Try to obtain an upfront commitment to begin the coaching sessions. 
• If the client does not respond to completing homework after a 3-strike or other rule you determine, you can move that client to the sidelines until he agrees to follow the program. 
• Hold a coaching session to ask the client what is preventing him from completing homework and try to create a solution together (e.g., if the homework is too overwhelming, perhaps ask for less response initially; if the homework involves completing worksheets and the client does not like that type exercise, ask him the questions directly and keep notes; if the client does not understand how to edit his LinkedIn profile, consider screen-sharing and walking the client through the process in a live session). 

I feel like I am more of a consultant; I speak too much. How can I focus more on listening and not providing guidance? 

• Listening is a key career coaching competency. We do not make decisions for our clients, so we must pose open-ended questions to engage them in making decisions independently.
• Remove all distractors, e.g., phone and texts, email, and background noises.
• Ask the client for permission to brainstorm ideas. 
• Recap and clarify what you heard – to ensure clarity. 
• Take notes. 

I finished the CPCC materials but am not confident yet. How can I feel more confident in leading coaching sessions?

• The CPCC program has many resources and tools that you can use to manage career coaching sessions. The coaching log and Diane’s Query Piece are two essential tools that you can use to begin coaching sessions. 
• The beloved GearBox also has many resources and templates you can customize and use with your client populations.
• By outlining a career coaching program and leading a client or two through the program, you will learn to adjust your coaching program and processes – and after a few clients – you will be much more confident and create a program that works well for you and your client population. For example, if you coach executives, you may need a complete 6- or 12-week program. You may only need to work with young adults for 4 or 6 weeks. Some coaches who work with the military only get to coach them for two or three sessions. You will adjust as you understand what sessions work well and which sessions need adjusting. Determine the greatest needs of your clients and focus the coaching sessions on these needs. 
• Create easy-to-use checklists and tip sheets for your clients. 

How do I charge for my career coaching services?

• You can charge hourly or as a bundle program for your coaching services. 
• Determine how many deliverables your coaching package will include, e.g., determining direction and a career management action plan, assessment tool, résumé, LinkedIn profile, interview preparation, salary negotiations, onboarding, and basic research.
• Determine the number of hours it will take to work with a client (including face-time hours and back-end work). 
• Determine your hourly rate and multiply it by the hours it will take to coach a client through XX sessions and deliverables. 
• Our colleagues charge anywhere from $100 to $450+ per hour. 

How can I build my career coaching business? 

• To build a career coaching practice, be credible, and be visible from day one. 
• If you work a day job and plan to open a career coaching practice in the next 3 to 5 years, get credible and visible now. 
• Launch a small website, monitor your LinkedIn profile, write blogs, and build relationships with stakeholders now (e.g., if you coach engineers, offer to write blogs or career coaching/career management tips for an engineering organization) – so that when you open your business, you are established as an expert for your population. 

In the new live CPCC sessions, we will discuss these questions and many more based on specific client scenarios. I have learned that no one client is like the next. They each approach a career coach at a different stage in their job search process, and we must understand the career coaching proficiencies and the entire career management process from A to Z to coach our clients to become Job-Search-Proofed.

The post Revamped and Ready: The CPCC Program Gets a Fresh Facelift appeared first on PARWCC.

Many of my clients began working from their kitchen tables, bedrooms, and basements. 

Many employees lost their jobs – either temporarily or long-term. They feared losing their paycheck and medical insurance benefits. 

Children were sent home from school to begin education from home via laptops – which meant, in many cases, parents had to remain home to be with their children and manage their education. Many parents of younger children were forced to work around the children’s schedules, waking early to work for hours before their children attended online classes, and they again worked later in the evening. 

Many elementary-aged children experienced a lack of socialization. 

Many youths experienced canceled graduations, proms, and other educational and life milestone events. These same youths experienced loneliness, frustration, and heartache. 

Some workers never worked from home – those in emergency medicine, grocery retail, and other critical/essential sectors. Many of these workers became burned out and left their professions. I have spoken with many nurses who quit nursing after a year of working through the COVID-19 time.   

These events describe Diane’s Whole-Person Theory to a T. Grief permeated the experience, which lasted two or more years.

As a career coach, I worked with my clients to embrace working from home and finding workarounds to the disruption of working from home. Parents unaccustomed to working from home experienced upheaval in many cases, for example, trying to work from home with a new infant or holding office Teams or Zoom meetings in the kitchen with the TV blaring in the background. I heard many of my clients shouting at their spouses: “Be quiet. I need an hour for this meeting. I will help you when I am done.”

I coached these clients to create systems for working from home by requesting equipment from their employers, creatively finding space in their homes to work quietly (one client set up an office in a large closet), and sharing responsibilities with a spouse who worked and cared for children attending school at home.

I also coached managers and supervisors of personnel who became frustrated with their employees who they believed were underperforming. I asked questions like, “How did John perform before he was sent home to work?” If the answer was very good, one of the highest performers. I then coached the manager to adjust to the work-from-order mandate and learn to coach his employee to make his performance just as successful from home. The manager had to change his mind set and accommodate the employees.

Some companies and government agencies did not renew leases to save money and shrink their footprint. Some employees moved away from the office they once worked in.  

Everyone was “retrained” in their thinking of productivity and work-from-home styles, schedules, and accommodations. Many people learned to work effectively from home or remotely. Even basic medicine, e.g., doctors treated medical conditions via Telehealth platforms (my doctor asked me if I had a thermometer and blood pressure machine at my house for one telehealth appointment I experienced). 

In a flip-the-switch, many companies have mandated that employees return to the office in the last two years. According to a ResumeBuilder article from 2023, 90% of employers planned to return to the office during 2024, and 28% of those companies said they would fire employees who do not return. 

Companies requiring employees to return to the office include JP Morgan Chase, Google, Apple, law firms, Tesla, SpaceX, Citigroup, AMX, and many government agencies. 

Employers have stated that collaboration, employee engagement, knowledge sharing, and mentorship suffer when employees work from home. Ideas are shared easily in an office/team environment. Those working from home state they are just as productive and create as many new ideas as possible in virtual meetings. 

Some companies have required employees to return to the office one or more days a week, up to five days a week. Interestingly, I have coached some companies that brought employees back to the office one day a week as a show of support to the rest of the team, who are required to work five days a week; the managers want camaraderie and knowledge sharing. Yet, the one-day-a-week-in-the-office employees do not have a designated office space/cubicle and are, in fact, working isolated in a conference room. It begs the question, is that motivational to any of the staff?

I work with some clients who have to register in advance to secure a cubicle to work in the office, and some days the cubicles are unavailable. Some employees try to book cubicles as many days in a row in advance as possible. This also means that the same team members are not always in the office for collaboration and knowledge sharing. 

Some employers that employ remote workers also ask employees to sign waivers indicating why they work remotely, how many remote days a week, and the number of remote hours. These waivers include statements like: “The company is not liable or responsible for providing internet or a cell phone; the company is not liable in the case of an accident at the employee’s worksite (home), and the company expects any equipment provided to the employee to be returned immediately upon employment termination for any reason, or the employee can expect a fine or lawsuit.” 

I always say that if such a statement is required to be sent to employees and signed, something evidently happened that made the company liable for something that happened at an employee’s home—the employee’s place of work.

When I coach an employee who is upset about having to return to work, I ask them to prioritize the pros and cons of working at home over working in the office. They must decide what is most important: working from home or having no job and finding new employment. 

For those who are insistent about working remotely, and if they know of some personnel in their company who are allowed to work from home, I coach them to prepare an accomplishment résumé to justify their work-from-home productivity to present to their company’s management. Sometimes, managers can request notable exceptions for exceptional personnel to allow them to work remotely. 

The past few years have been a time of considerable and complex career transition for many in the workforce. Changes are continuing to permeate the workplace. How we respond, adapt, and move forward is vital for ourselves, our families, and our clients.

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