Amazon’s recent decision – call that ‘diktat’ – demanding that everyone previously working remotely now needs to return to the office for a full five days a week (not just two or three days) – has certainly caused an uproar.
It smacks, argue commentators, of a return to old-fashioned command and control theories of management, and was defended very loosely (say most people), around the idea that people being together is better for innovation and ideas sharing.
Our email bulletin editorial from just a few weeks ago was dominated by just this very story, but it hasn’t died down since, and it definitely won’t die down soon.
For just last week came the inevitable news that such is the ire against Amazon from its own workers about the RTO that a whopping 73% are now considering quitting.
But the story is also rumbling on also thanks to just-published research which talks even more about the perils of mandating that staff return to the office.
According to the ‘2024 RTO Survey’ by MyPerfectResume (which interviewed more than 4,200 workers earlier this year), the main finding was a simple one: most workers believe return-to-office (RTO) policies are about employers wanting more ‘control’ and that it exhibits (so employees say), a lack of ‘trust’.
More control:
The data shows – categorically – that most (77%) of workers believe the primary motivation for RTO policies is so that employers can exert more control over the activities of their workers.
Nearly as many (72%) say they think employers believe office working improves productivity (while 71% suggest employers also think office working improves collaboration and communication).
Linked to this is the damning statistic which reveals that 64% believe their employer wants them back in the office simply because they don’t trust them to do their work remotely.
And linked to this trust (or lack of it), is that employees themselves don’t trust managers when it comes to why RTOs are implemented in the first place.
The data finds that some 42% of workers polled actually think RTOs aren’t just about justifying better collaboration or innovation.
They fear much more sinister reasons are afoot – that actually, companies want to reinstate on-site work to force attrition (ie make people want to leave), because this way, they don’t have to officially lay them off and give them severance packages.
A dire choice for HR managers
If these statistics weren’t bad enough, one of the most arresting findings in the survey, is that only 2% (yes, just 2%) of employees now say they prefer full-time working onsite – suggesting quite clearly that the remote-work-preferring horse has long since bolted, and the abilities of HR professionals to force people back are extremely limited.
For not only do RTO mandates appear to severely rub employees’ backs up, MyPerfectResume also found that imposing an RTO leaves HR professionals vulnerable in terms of what they can do to try and mollify staff to accept it.
Amazon has fired back, announcing big pay rises for staff, in the hope this will pacify staff, but the MyPerfectResume research suggests it will have a hard time doing this.
It finds quite simply that nearly two-fifths (36%) of staff now say there’s not a single perk HR can offer them that would justify or placate them to come into the office full-time.
When asked which perks ‘could’ bring them back to work full time, traditional benefits, like onsite fitness options (28%) and mental health support (28%), captured the attention of less than a third of respondents.
Others fared even worse. Childcare reimbursements (17%), socializing opportunities (19%) and student loan assistance programs (25%) didn’t come close to tipping the scales for most workers.
In fact, not a single perk garnered the support of more than half the workforce, with the top perk that might make a difference being fuel reimbursement (50%) and unlimited PTO (47%).
Speaking to TLNT, Jasmine Escalera, coach, and career expert for MyPerfectResume said the results of the finds are shocking but “not surprising.”
She added: “What Covid-19 proved was that people can be just a productive working flexibly – but employers aren’t buying this yet. And what was even more worrying was the finding that a great many people think RTOs are about keeping tabs on employees.”
She continued: “The fact benefits now have such little value in making up for an RTO really shows just how wrong employers are in thinking employees value certain benefits. I doubt the Amazon pay rises will really cut it for those now forced back to the office five days a week.”
People literally ‘fear’ coming back to the office
On their own, statistics like these could be dismissed as unrepresentative of the wider population, and the fact RTOs only seem to be increasing seems to suggest that HR heads are either willing to take a risk that they’ll cause outrage, or are being forced into doing so by their CEO.
But supporting much of the data from MyPerfectResume is further (just-published) data, from LiveCareer.
Its Fears & Remote Work report (which polled 3,853 Americans), finds that more than half of workers (53%) actually fear on-site full-time work for the rest of their life more than they do climate change!
Nearly half (43%) said they were more scared of having to work on-site full-time than losing their romantic relationship or getting a divorce, while almost as many (41%) said they are more scared of having to work on-site full-time for the rest of their life than getting into a car accident.
While it’s possible to read these specific findings as more ‘trivial’ responses, the research also has some serious content too – such as the revelation that the majority of US workers (71%) now prefer working remotely 100% of the time.
Moreover, it also finds women (73%) prefer it more than men (63%).
Overall, some 49% said they didn’t enjoy traditional office-based work.
How remote work ‘improves’ mental health
A further interesting finding from the LiveCareer research was the suggestion that the mental health benefits of being together in an office (and therefore a good reason for imposing RTOs), appears to now be debunked.
Immediately after Covid-19 enforced home-working, there was indeed data that suggested remote employees felt disconnected, isolated, and alone by not being with their usual office-based colleagues.
But now it seems the tide has changed. LiveCareer finds a whopping 82% of workers have gotten used to it, and instead say working remotely is now better for their mental health than working on-site.
Furthermore, a sizeable 79% say that working remote is less stressful than working on-site, while nearly two-thirds (62%) say their overall job satisfaction is greatest when they work remotely 100% of the time.
Tough HR times ahead?
There’s absolutely no doubt CHROs will face tough times ahead if they start imposing a mandate on staff to return to the office full-time.
Perfectly chiming with MyPerfectResume’s research was LiveCareer’s finding that only 2% of workers say they prefer fully on-site work over a remote or hybrid model.
This arguably shows that across the two studies, sentiment about office working is pretty universal.
LiveCareer also finds that just 3% of workers now believe they are most motivated at work, working on-site 100% of the time.
Ignoring reality?
The trouble is, while CHROs may not like stats like these, they arguably can’t ignore them either.
It’s their company’s own engagement, productivity, motivation and attrition statistics that will likely suffer.
“What I would hope,” says Escalera, “is that employers really lean-in more to what drives employees and establish which roles ‘just make sense’ to be in the office, and which ‘just make sense’ to be remote, rather than applying a mandate across the whole employee population. That’s when employers will suffer backlash.”
Will they make the ‘right’ decision?
That’s for them to find out – although they might have to find out the hard way first.