The friction between employers and workers over returning to the office continues, but it seems to be coming to a kind of equilibrium, according to the latest info.
Here are Five Fast Facts on return to work:
- 📈 More Hybrid - As of August, the number of workers doing at least some work from home was 22.8%, up from 19.5% a year ago. Recruiters are seeing a higher level than normal for hybrid job listings.
- 🙃 Theory Vs. Reality - Many companies that laid down strong requirements to return to the office found they couldn’t enforce those requirements. Over time, most of those have found a better balance where in-office expectations are looser and based on the actual work situation rather than simply checking a box. Hey, whaddya know, doing something for a purpose rather than just because…?
- 🥱 My Way Or The Highway - This more moderated stance seems to have a positive impact, according to HR professionals in various companies. About 45% reported difficulty retaining workers where there were strong expectations or outright requirements to be on site; for companies with looser policies, only 15% reported difficulty. Who’s surprised by that? Not us, and probably not you, either.
- 🏢 Offices Up - Looking at a handful of large cities across the country for early September, the number of office workers was up 2.6% overall from last year, including a 7% jump in Texas and a 4% jump in New York City. It makes sense, all those big office buildings cost a lot whether they’re full or empty.
- 🤝 Across The Board - Around 90% of companies plan to issue a return to office (RTO) mandate by the end of the year. But, they’re typically leaving themselves plenty of room for compromise with workers by keeping the definition of RTO very loose, and possibly not applying it to every worker. Except Amazon, who has gone full napalm on it.
🔥Bottom line: Not every job can be done remotely. But not every office job needs to be done in the office, either. It seems like workers and employers are making their way toward a middle ground that works reasonably well for everyone. We’ll keep an eye on the trends!
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