Many company executives now regret their initial return-to-office plans, as 80% say they would have approached it differently if they understood employee preferences. While some firms are requiring more in-office time, citing collaboration needs, others are scaling back requirements due to retention issues. Successful companies like EY are listening to employees, addressing concerns over childcare and commuting, and seeing office attendance rise as a result. However, full office occupancy remains below pre-pandemic levels as hybrid work grows in popularity. It will take time for companies to settle on arrangements that satisfy both employees and management.
The companies that continue to try to force RTO will just alienate most millennials and zoomers. Good luck finding a wide enough group of people to fill those jobs you supposedly need filled. Most workers hate RTO, no matter how much BS, posturing, and gaslighting you do corporate, you’re not going to win this one.
Got a friend who was forced to RTO
…except literally every single person they work with is at a different branch. He’s doing the exact same things as he was at home, but it forced into the office. Fucking ridiculous doesn’t even begin to cover it
@Alto @trashhalo @zerkrazus i know its bonkers! im the last one on my team who has dug my heels in and refused to RTO. my tasks involve working with a sister team based in Poland (im USA based) we have most of our infrastructure in cloud and whats not is located in data centers across the country from me. my work 100% online! seems to me if my employer is “upside down " in their office/buildings/mortgage” is NOT my problem!
This is why I’m glad my IT dept isn’t pushing for RTO. Both our data centers are out of state rental spaces, so even in the office all our work is remote.
A whopping 80% of bosses regret their initial return-to-office decisions and say they would have approached their plans differently if they had a better understanding of what their employees wanted
In other words, 80% of executives / bosses are completely incapable of listening to their employees and are now shocked that things aren’t working out, when they were undoubtedly explicitly told this wouldn’t go the way they think it will.
Ah well, time to blame the plebs, cut their pay and benefits, and give the execs a raise so they can confidently execute a new disaster.
No, they knew exactly what employees wanted. They just didn’t expect them to actually leave over it.
I don’t really know what to make of this article.
- Bosses != executives / people in charge of making return to work decisions. Is there remorse from the people who were actually responsible for the return to work decision-making? or is it middle management who didn’t really want to come back either expressing their lack of satisfaction how “corporate” executed?
- If it really is an ineffective policy It’s never too late to admit your mistake and pivot. If you aren’t doing that, then what is this besides lip service?
I don’t know if this is really the case but it comes across a little as “ah shucks sorry we didn’t do so great with all that… oh well too late now, bygones and whatnot, get back to work.” You aren’t absolved lol every day the policy continues its an endorsement that its what you continue to want
The execs at my company continues to say that we’re an office based company, citing collaboration and social reasons. However, I have not heard of a single person below VP level share this opinion.
Luckily, many of us are “field personnel”, and mostly work either in the field or at home. Mandating that we work from the office would mean that we’re “office personnel”, who cannot be required to do field work. I love how corporate definitions make it easier to defend against corporate wank.
While I completely agree with you, they have better lawyers and deeper pockets, so don’t be surprised if they somehow have it both ways.
Using the unused office will not “recoup” any costs, the money’s gone. You’re just paying for heat lights and AC in addition to increasing employee turnover, especially on the ones with easily markettable skills - often those you would most struggle to replace
Not an accountant, but maybe they have expense them differently or across a different time frame depending on utilization.
It’s so delicious to see this after so many months of endless RTO propaganda
