As we head into 2024, the work environment in the United States is undergoing a profound transformation. More than one in four paid workdays, as of last fall, now occurs at home, a reflection of the dramatic increase since before the pandemic. A new wave of businesses have been forcing people back to the workplace. This trend has been influenced by many factors. These RTO mandates are sometimes attributed to a desire for leadership, especially in industries with strong male and/or CEO leadership. Now, companies are facing the realities of remote and hybrid work arrangements. At the same time, the fight to get workers back to the office—not just hybrid work—has remained hotly contested.
That’s a big deal, notes Mark Ma, an associate business professor at the University of Pittsburgh. As it turns out, return-to-office mandates tend to be higher in companies that are male and CEO powerful. In reality, leaders are prone to advocate for returning work in person due to a desire for control. This longing comes from an antiquated viewpoint, with some in leadership expecting a return to the office five days a week.
"We found return-to-office mandates are more likely in firms with male and powerful CEOs." – Mark Ma
For some workers, including Amazon software engineer Clinton Stamper, an in-office experience is ideal for their productivity. They get deeper collaboration and connectivity among their peers. There are those who don’t agree. Almost half of remote workers report that they would probably leave their jobs if required to resume full-time work in the office. We base this conclusion on data from BambooHR’s collection. This pushback is part of a larger employee desire for flexibility and remote options, which has grown increasingly important since the pandemic.
"I was excited to get in there and just do some work in person with all my teammates," – Clinton Stamper
The real-world implications of RTO policies reach further than just personal preference. What is clear is that job satisfaction ratings plummet after a company imposes RTO mandates according to recent research by Mark Ma. Such mandates lead to increased turnover and longer training periods. This is particularly the case for some categories of staff, such as feminized occupations, knowledge workers, and non-migrant senior-tenured staff. This trend and practice means that RTO policies might unintentionally push great talent out of organizations.
"But we do find significant evidence that return-to-office mandates hurt employee job satisfaction." – Mark Ma
Organizations that are forcing draconian RTO policies are going to have a harder time attracting new talent as well. LinkedIn’s head of Americas economist Kory Kantenga just shared a surprising trend. Businesses with new RTO policies are dragging their feet on hiring employees. In other instances, employers deploy RTO mandates as a ruthless, backdoor method to push layoffs. They’re counting on employees to decide to leave rather than comply with the policy.
"As that shrinks, employers are going to have to do more to attract employees, and offering flexible work might be the thing that they have to do." – Kory Kantenga
Ironically, they may not be more productive than their business counterparts adopting a five-day in-office setup. As Kory Kantenga of Candeo points out, these companies are not doing any better as private enterprises. They underperform their peers with hybrid or remote friendly work arrangements on the stock. This important finding from the research further emphasizes the complexity involved in the relationship between work arrangements and value to the organization.
"And at the end of the day, there's a lot of people talking about RTO as a very simple answer for fixing a lot of very complicated and complex problems within organizations," – Sam Spurlin
That’s why most firms with remote and hybrid policies are doubling down. Indeed, a survey announced last week by Stanford and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found that they aren’t changing anything at all in the next 12 months. That’s a huge show of support for the importance of flexible work arrangements and the growing understanding that they are key to attracting and retaining talent.