Three compelling reports show just how damaging RTO mandates are turning out to be.
Surprising no one but the mgmt teams…
Unispace found that nearly half (42%) of companies with return-to-office mandates witnessed a higher level of employee attrition than they had anticipated. And almost a third (29%) of companies enforcing office returns are struggling with recruitment. In other words, employers knew the mandates would cause some attrition, but they weren’t ready for the serious problems that would result.
Meanwhile, a staggering 76% of employees stand ready to jump ship if their companies decide to pull the plug on flexible work schedules, according to the Greenhouse report. Moreover, employees from historically underrepresented groups are 22% more likely to consider other options if flexibility comes to an end.
In the SHED survey, the gravity of this situation becomes more evident. The survey equates the displeasure of shifting from a flexible work model to a traditional one to that of experiencing a 2% to 3% pay cut.
My old schedule were wake up at 7:10. Out the door by 7:40. Be at the office by 9:00ish. The most painful part if not the 90 min train ride but the 25 stops... I counted those stops for 5 years.
Don't pitch a WFH by bragging about how you're doing personal stuff (breakfast) on work time.
Also, it's really beneficial to the workflow if you don't do work in the kitchen, and don't eat meals in the home office. Get the downtime, and preserve the separation, while also being adequate on your time-management.
If you think office drones are 100% productive for all 8 hours I have a bridge to sell you.
There've now been several studies showing WFH is a net good for productivity. Instead of hiding in the bathroom to scroll Lemmy, people are taking their 5 minute breaks to do laundry, clean the house, check on the baby - I can't see how that's anything but a good thing.
I bring my laptop to the kitchen and take calls if they come in. I check my email while eating.
I get everything done I need to do. My boss is actually great and encourages us to prioritize being happy, as long as we get everything done in a reasonable amount of time.
I do not WFH and unabashedly eat breakfast at my desk every single day lol.
Not a single person has said a word to me, and my direct supervisor and their supervisor have both seen me doing it. Not a word.
My philosophy has always been - and I've told the employees who work under me many times - as long as you complete the tasks assigned to you, and are performing the role that you were hired for, I don't particularly care what you're doing in the interim (as long as it's not something that is explicitly against the Code of Conduct). Giving people a little breathing room, and, ya know, treating them like human beings instead of soulless automatons, goes a long way. My team is generally more productive, and is nearly always the front runner for task resolution times compared to the other offices.
@Cyyris@corsicanguppy office bosses universally seem to care a lot more about your physical presence at the office, than about the work you so. Maybe they know the jobs are all bullshit jobs and they just like exercising power
I think a lot of middle managers get a small taste of power, and at that point take on the "corporate drone" personality, and start parroting the corporate agenda as well as wanting to directly micromanage their employees (can't do that if they're not there.)
"Stakeholders this, we're here to make the company money that, yada yada yada"
The thing is that the reason corporate wants people back to the office is that these companies have put so much money into these office buildings, and if they don't get their workers back to the office, then that equals a loss! Can't have that! They can't sell the buildings off either since the housing/commercial building market is trashed right now, so again they'd be taking a huge loss.
So even with all of the benefits of WFH to people's work/life balance, mental wellbeing, and productivity, the company is losing some X amount of money, and that's what they really care about.
When we were in the office, people were in the kitchen at all hours to get something to eat. I'm not sure how that's any different than home.
it's really beneficial to the workflow if you don't do work in the kitchen, and don't eat meals in the home office.
Who's workflow? If you have an issue getting your work done, that's something that you need to address. If someone else isn't, then why should they change what they're doing because you have issues?