Boston, MA

Return-to-office pushes can cause a ‘riot.’ These Boston-area companies are trying anyway.

Published

12 months ago

January 25, 2024

Return-to-office pushes can cause a ‘riot.’ These Boston-area companies are trying anyway.

The Boston Globe

Andrew Cleary, partner at Baystate Financial, spoke with Abigale Shields, director of financial planning, while in their Seaport office. ERIN CLARK/GLOBE STAFF

Dave Porter was ready to bring his people back into the office on Fridays. They’d been working Monday through Thursday at the Seaport headquarters of Baystate Financial for nearly three years, but the workplace just didn’t seem as lively and collaborative as it did when everyone came in five days a week.

When Porter broached the topic at a meeting in November, however, “the body language got really bad,” he said. People slumped in their chairs. One employee did a Google search and announced “nobody is back” five days a week. A new hire proclaimed, “I wouldn’t have taken this job if I’d known I had to come in on Fridays.”

Abigale Shields, the firm’s director of financial planning, was bombarded with messages from staffers after the meeting and conveyed their dismay to Porter. “I think I used the word ‘riot,’ ” she said.

Nearly four years after the pandemic upended the longstanding Monday-through-Friday commute for many white-collar workers, most employers have settled into a hybrid arrangement. Office occupancy has been about 50 percent for the past year in major metro areas studied by Kastle Systems, and only 4 percent of CEOs said bringing workers back full time is a priority, according to a new survey by The Conference Board.

“I think that’s a thing of the past,” said Harvard Business School professor Prithwiraj Choudhury, whose recent study identifies the “sweet spot” for hybrid work as two days a week in the office, on average, for optimum job satisfaction, work-life balance, and performance.

Still, a growing number of managers want butts in seats more often, citing the connections, collaborations, and innovations that in-person work can bring. State Street Corp., for instance, the Boston financial services firm, brought people back four days a week in November. Last year, 88 percent of employers nationwide said they expected workers to be in a certain number of days a week, up from 69 percent in 2022, according to a customer survey by Robin, the Boston workplace management software company.

But companies are proceeding with creativity, and caution — encouraging attendance instead of requiring it, in many cases, well aware that people have become very attached to working from home. Almost three-quarters of human resources professionals told researchers at the University of Chicago that getting workers back to the office has been an issue; a fifth described it as a “major problem.” David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, one of several major companies back in the office full-time, admitted that getting people to come in on Fridays has been a challenge.

Indeed, about half of recent US job candidates at Copyright Clearance Center in Danvers, which has no in-office requirements, have told hiring managers they are looking for new jobs because of return-to-office mandates at their current employers.

Abigale Shields, director of financial planning at Bay State Financial, poses for a portrait at the company’s Seaport office. *ERIN CLARK/GLOBE STAFF*

But not all RTO mandates are created equal. Employees at MassMutual, the Springfield-based life insurance provider, started coming in at least three days a week in September but work off-site the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and July Fourth and can take an additional four remote weeks of their choosing.

At Baystate Financial, Porter listened to workers’ concerns about losing work-from-home Fridays, many revolving around their “brutal commute” into the Seaport. For Shields, who spends an hour each way to get there via ferry from Hingham, the best part of working from home on Fridays is having breakfast with her 3-year-old son. The thought of losing that left her feeling “deflated.”

So, last month, Porter announced a compromise. If the company hits its quarterly goals, which bonuses are already tied to, the roughly 300 people who work in the company’s 12 offices could work from home on Fridays for the next quarter. (The 600 financial advisers on staff have always had a flexible schedule). Employees are already paying closer attention to the firm’s performance, Porter said: “The whole company is going in the same direction now.”

But the threat of a riot still looms. “There’s going to be … another wave of anger if we don’t hit those goals,” Shields said.

Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco who examined 43 industries found that remote work has not had an impact on productivity. Still, some employers are so determined to make sure people are in the office that they’re tracking attendance. Eighty percent of 800 employers surveyed by ResumeBuilder.com in December said they planned to monitor employees’ badge swipes or Wi-Fi logins or even use sensors under workers’ desks. Google is among those tracking badge swipes for its three-day-a-week in-office policy, according to CNBC, and plans to include office attendance in performance reviews.

Some workers are finding ways around these methods. Nearly 60 percent of hybrid workers surveyed by Owl Labs, the Boston video-conference provider, said they have “coffee badged,” meaning, went into the office for a few hours to show their face.

At some companies, in-office requirements are focused on new hires. The Boston staffing agency The Hollister Group expects all new employees to come in at least three days a week for the first few months. Chief executive Kip Hollister, who has been “slow dripping” people back into the office, recently started basing each person’s in-office attendance on their individual performance and allows employees who have been doing well remotely to come and go as they please.

“We want that as a carrot,” she said.

The new approach will be “a wake-up call but also a gift” for those who aren’t performing well, said Hollister, who isn’t worried about it being viewed as punishment: “If coming into the office … is going to help you be more productive and have greater results, won’t you want that for yourself?”

As the CEO of a staffing firm, Hollister is well aware how hard it is for employers who require more than three days a week on-site to attract talent. But sometimes, that’s what it takes.

Susan Kreis, operations manager at Baystate Financial, spoke with Abigale Shields, director of financial planning, while in their Seaport office. *ERIN CLARK/GLOBE STAFF*

One of her managers recently suggested that a sales associate start coming in four days a week instead of three to learn and help boost his staffing placement numbers. The associate, Nicolas Coppolo, 23, who has been there for just over a year, acknowledged that being around more experienced colleagues is helpful, even if it’s just overhearing how they talk to clients on the phone.

At the Boston marketing automation provider Klaviyo, where employees live determines their in-office expectations. Starting this month, anyone who lives within 30 miles of a US hub in Boston, Denver, and one opening soon in San Mateo is supposed to come in twice a week — Tuesday and Thursday for most teams — a change from last year, when those within 50 miles came in three days a week every six weeks.

Commuter benefits have also increased from $90 to $300 a month.

Remote hiring, which was responsible for more than half of the company’s growth during the pandemic, has also come to an end, and some positions are now taking longer to fill, said Klaviyo chief people officer Lisa Maronski.

The twice-a-week, 30-mile policy applies to just over 60 percent of the company’s 1,800 employees, but exemptions are being granted.

Tori Shulman, Klaviyo’s senior manager of performance media, lives in Westwood and takes the commuter rail in twice a week. A new hire on her team who lives just beyond the 30-mile mark has also been coming in two days a week, but if she needs to scale back, that’s fine, too.

“Ultimately, the goal is for each individual to do their best work,” Shulman said.

To Maronski’s knowledge, so far no one has left Klaviyo over the new policy: “I don’t have anyone that specifically said, ‘I am out. I’m quitting because, you know, two days a week is just completely crazy.’”

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Boston, MA

Maguire & Caldarone: Bilingual education a must for BPS students

Published

31 minutes ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Maguire & Caldarone: Bilingual education a must for BPS students

The Boston Public Schools (BPS) enroll students from 139 different countries who speak 66 different languages at home. Roughly one-third of BPS students are classified as Multilingual Learners or English Language Learners (ELs), which means they are not fluent in English and need their instruction augmented in some way.

It’s the “in some way” which is the topic of intense debate both locally and nationally. The Boston Teachers Union (BTU) wants to change the way the BPS teaches EL students. The BTU wants the BPS to end its current practice of having a general education teacher also deliver English language instruction. President-elect Donald Trump recently told Time magazine that he wants to keep only some of the Department of Education operational “just to make sure they’re teaching English in the schools.”

In an effort to help ELs, the BPS recently announced the creation of new dual language programming for the ‘25-’26 school year. At first only 200 students will be served but expansions are planned. These programs range from “newcomers” who do not speak any or only very limited English, to advanced programs in high school where students are eligible to receive the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy upon graduation.

All of these approaches only nibble around the edge of the issue, and even if these programs are faithfully implemented the core issue remains unchanged: American students are at a disadvantage globally if they remain monolingual.

Finland, often hailed as the world exemplar of public education, requires its students to learn four languages by the time they graduate secondary school. Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Whatever language a student speaks at home, that student learns the other official language in school. The goal is to have all Finns able to speak to one another in order both to build a national community and to make commerce easier. Then Finns learn two more languages (one of which is usually English).

Over 43 million people in the United States speak Spanish at home (13% of the population). In Boston,16% of the population speaks Spanish. So let’s follow the Finnish model and have all our students – and citizens – understand one another.

Boston already has a few dual-language programs in not only Spanish but also in Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, and American Sign Language. What if Boston simply expanded these programs so that all students in the BPS became proficient in at least two languages?

If this were to happen, then Boston graduates would be in high demand. A 2023 report by The Century Foundation states that bilingual students have better problem-solving skills and improved working memory due to their more active neural networks as a result of their learning two (or more) languages.

There are other benefits of bilingualism such as better social-emotional development and even a potential delay in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (again due to expanded neural pathways).

Practically speaking, bilingual employees can earn up to 20% more than their monolingual counterparts. Workforce Essentials reported in 2023 that US businesses lose roughly $2 billion annually due to language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. Undeniably our world is becoming more interconnected. BPS graduates who are multilingual would have a great advantage in both college and career.

Boston is already moving in the direction of increased multilingual instruction. In the Dec. 18, 2024 School Committee meeting, BPS interim CFO David Bloom gave a report which stated that over the past year the general education population in the BPS decreased by 22% whereas the number of ELs increased by 11%. Simply put, Boston has to increase its multilingual instruction anyway. Why not go all in?

There are two frequent arguments against bilingual education. One is xenophobia and the other is parsimony. For a “nation of immigrants” it is illogical for us to fear our neighbors’ words and cultures. As for the cost, let us beware of the “bait and switch” of vouchers or school choice.

It is also important to also note that many private/independent schools offer language instruction from Grade 1 through Grade 12. They know that doing so will make their graduates more competitive in college and beyond.

There is no denying that Boston needs to do better by its students. If we continue the current model we will likely continue with the current results. An expansive bilingual program would both improve our students’ lives and attract more families to the district.

Finally we could also help our students and families by having our teachers learn Spanish and/or other languages in their professional development sessions. We can all learn from each other.

Para los estudiantes de hoy, la educación bilingüe es esencial para la universidad, la carrera y nuestra sociedad global. Creemos que todos los estudiantes deberían tener la misma oportunidad de aprender otros idiomas.

(Michael Maguire teaches Latin and Ancient Greek at Boston Latin Academy and serves on the Executive Board of the Boston Teachers Union. Julie Caldarone is the retired Director of World Languages for Boston Public Schools. She currently co-teaches a course entitled, “Spanish for BPS Educators.” The ideas expressed here are their own.)

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Boston, MA

Red Sox Icon David Ortiz Urges Boston To ‘Make It Rain’ For Free-Agent Slugger

Published

8 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Red Sox Icon David Ortiz Urges Boston To ‘Make It Rain’ For Free-Agent Slugger

The Boston Red Sox hive mind doesn’t always come to a perfect agreement on what they want the team to do. That is, of course, unless David Ortiz is asking for it.

A three-time World Series champion, Hall of Famer, and one of the most clutch players of all time, Ortiz is unquestionably on the Red Sox’s all-time Mount Rushmore. Even though he retired in 2016, he’s still closely woven into the fabric of the organization.

Ortiz sees what we all do: this Red Sox team is close to being ready to contend for the playoffs, but there’s one key ingredient missing. He made his feelings known about what he hopes the front office does between now and Opening Day to address that issue.

On Saturday, Ortiz relayed a simple message to the Red Sox: spend whatever it takes to get one more big bat.

“There’s still some guys out there that we can still go for, and I think we have a really good front office,” Ortiz said in an appearance on NESN. “To put a good lineup together nowadays is not that difficult. What you got to do is just make it rain, and you can go pick a few guys. Now pitching, on the other hand, is the toughest thing to put together.

“We got pitching. Pitching can always stop good offenses. The playoff is a playoff pitching (staff) we got right now. We line up a couple of thunders in the lineup to help (Rafael Devers) and the rest of them boys — one good bat would do.”

Ortiz and NESN host Tom Caron both strongly hinted at the end of the interview who that big bat could be: former Houston Astros All-Star Alex Bregman. Manager Alex Cora also signaled earlier in the day that Bregman would be a great fit in Boston.

Bregman isn’t quite Ortiz, but he does have one thing on him: the career record for OPS at Fenway Park. He has a wild 1.245 mark in 98 plate appearances in Boston throughout his career.

When David Ortiz asks for something, the Red Sox would usually be wise to follow through. And it seems he wants Bregman. Will that move the needle in the suites at Fenway?

More MLB: Red Sox Predicted To Land Ex-Padres $28 Million Gold Glover In Free Agency Surprise

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Boston, MA

Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe

Published

16 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe

The snow showers come from a weakening system approaching from the Great Lakes that tapped into some of the moisture from a strong storm passing south of New England.

The region was spared the worst precipitation of the storm thanks to persistent sub-freezing temperatures earlier this week, which pushed it south toward its current location off the coast of North Carolina, Nocera said. New England’s light snowfall is on the northern fringes of the storm.

Nocera added that this weekend’s “decorative snow” will not significantly impact ground travel.

The Massachusetts Port Authority issued a travel advisory for flight delays at Boston Logan International Airport. According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, as of around 1:00 p.m. 212 flights were delayed at Boston Logan and another 15 were cancelled.

Margo Griffin, a teaching associate at the University of Cambridge in England, was initially worried about driving through the snow on her way to get coffee in Cambridge, but said the view from the Charles River was worth the trek.

“I thought it might be a problem, but I just decided to go ahead with the plan, and I’m enjoying walking through the snow,” Griffin said.

People walked along a snow-covered path at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston Saturday, as a winter storm brought light accumulation to New England.

Erin Clark / Globe Staff

Other Boston-area residents who spoke to the Globe Saturday morning were happy to wake up to the winter scene on Saturday.

“I am feeling wonderful about the snow. I haven’t seen it in a long time,” said Barbara Delollis, a communications lead at Harvard Business School.

Delollis already made snow day plans.

“We want to go out and have some fun in the snow, and take a lot of pictures and just remember this moment, because we don’t know how much more snowfall we’re going to see in the Boston area anymore with climate change,” Delollis said.

Talia, a Cambridge resident, said that the snow had no effect on her plans to attend synagogue with her two-year-old son Saturday morning.

“It feels nice and seasonal, which is cool because climate change is terrifying,” she said.

Snowstorms can still occur, despite warming temperatures from climate change, Nocera said. Although Saturday’s snowfall cannot guarantee heavy snow this winter, there is a slightly higher chance of snow towards the end of the month as cold temperatures ease.