We’ve talked a bunch about working from home and the resulting conflict between employees and employers. On the one hand, you have flexibility, better work/life balance, and an easier time dealing with personal or family issues. On the other, you have productivity issues, company culture, and collaboration. It’s been tricky for businesses to balance between these two sides! Most have some form of hybrid plan now, but it’s still no wonder that 80% of companies in a recent ResumeBuilder survey report losing talent because of return-to-office (RTO) mandates!
So what’s a business to do about this?
Here are Five Fast Facts on navigating the RTO mandate minefield:
- 👀 Back Door Layoffs - More companies are issuing RTO mandates for the purpose of creating an unofficial layoff. About 20% of HR professionals say explicitly that this is the case, and 37% of company leaders believe that actual layoffs occur when RTO mandates don’t get rid of enough employees. Reasonable people see this as both unethical and a reason to distrust The Man.
- 😣 More For Less - Working in-office has additional costs like childcare and commuting, but RTO mandates usually don’t include pay increases. This causes more heartburn between workers and companies, especially given the current high-cost world we live in now. It’s less “time vs money” and more “neither time nor money.”
- 🟢 Green Status Effect - Many employers see remote work as less productive, but the actual data shows in-office workers actually spend an hour more per day socializing than remote workers. Not many homes have water coolers, after all. Still, the pressure to appear busy while remote has given rise to the “green status” effect, where workers feel compelled to keep their activity status green all the time, even when they’re not working. Sixty-four percent of workers admit to doing this!
- 🔍 Keeping Up Appearances - As a result, the work culture at many companies has shifted focus to appearing busy rather than actual work output and results. This sort of micromanagement has further reduced employee engagement and trust in employees. Ya’ think??
- 🤔 Rethink Things - There are some real things that companies can do to improve the situation. Focus on outcomes rather than appearances. One size doesn’t fit all, so ASK your employees what they want, and do what you can to deliver a solution that works. Be transparent and honest about policies. Work hard to maintain company culture in a way that works for both in-office workers and remote workers. Lean into company values and a sense of belonging no matter where you are physically located. Consider compensation carefully. As Google used to say, “don’t be evil.”
🔥Bottom line: We get it, it’s tricky. But this tension isn’t going to go away. It seems to us that a great starting point is to think of your employees as valuable people rather than, well, just employees. When people are valued, they almost always provide value that makes the business work, so it’s a win-win.
What’s been your experience with RTO mandates?
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