Companies forcing workers to come back to the office are creating a 'massive disruption' in their lives, workplace expert says

SkippingRelax , 7 months ago

Anyone knows what the career path to become a workplace expert is?

circuitfarmer , 7 months ago

A recruiter reached out to me about two weeks ago. The role was interesting but said “hybrid to start, then on-site after 3 months” – in spite of being listed as “Remote” in the title. I told the recruiter it was a hard pass. They proceeded to tell me that I really should be “more flexible” because they’re seeing fewer and fewer remote roles.

I told them to simply remove me from any lists in the future and that I would not respond to any other recruitment requests from their company.

I have worked remotely since far before covid. It’s been nearly 10 years. I am seeing some companies scramble for RTO, and in almost all cases, it’s companies with demonstrable investment in real estate or contractual obligations to office space. Obviously it has also been used in some cases to force resignations so the company doesn’t need as many lay-offs (specifically for those which overhired during covid). That’s it. As far as I’m concerned, there is absolutely no benefit to RTO in terms of worker performance, efficiency, or happiness.

Companies are very likely to lose top talent with RTO. They’re also extremely unlikely to be able to attract that talent in the first place. It’s effectively a brain drain. Remote-first companies stand to continue to gain, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Feathercrown , 7 months ago

Ever wonder why we need corporate “experts” to analyze the behavior of the workforce, but nobody spends any time analyzing business behavior from a layman’s perspective?

Feathercrown , 7 months ago

We don’t need a workplace expert to see this. Anyone with a functioning brain can do it.

Greyghoster , 7 months ago

What’s the likelihood that the billionaires driving the work from office campaign are really trying to reestablish their power and instil fear in their workers again? It’s all about control so they can squeeze and fire people as they like. They sound like psychopaths.

FenrirIII , 7 months ago

It also lines people up for workforce reduction.

glimse , 7 months ago

A big part is commercial real estate. There’s a lot of investments tied up in it and while it affects most people with a lot of money, many mutual funds (401k, etc) are tied up in it. So we’re basically keeping it alive because money.

Not defending it at all. Just saying why

Kraiden , 7 months ago

This is basically my assumption whenever I hear "CEO X says RTO is the bestest thing." My first thought is always "I wonder how much money CEO X has in commercial real estate"

ramble81 , 7 months ago

Which is hilarious because the smart ones realize that the carrot is much better than the stick and they can actually get more from their workforce by working with them. But nope.

RagingRobot , 7 months ago

Yeah they want you to feel grateful to work for them. That’s not going to work for me

Reverendender , 7 months ago

“We don’t give a shit” - these employers, probably

Fiivemacs , 7 months ago

They will once productivity nosedives

Bakkoda , 7 months ago

You’d be amazed.

Ghostalmedia , 7 months ago

Same pay, but now you spend 1-3 hours in a car everyday.

partial_accumen , 7 months ago

And spent the money of commuting travel expenses and possibly dining out for lunch too. Its like getting a raise, but the reverse! Hi, accept lower take home pay now for the same work!

captainlezbian , 7 months ago

But you get to spend time with coworkers! Everyone loves coworkers right

eskimofry , 7 months ago

Only if we are sleepong together every wednesday as a team building exercise.

TheBat , 7 months ago

You can carry your lunch, y’know?

partial_accumen , 7 months ago

I agree. Hence the word “possibly” in my statement. It wasn’t an absolute.

BertramDitore , 7 months ago

Remote workers may feel resentful toward previously flexible employers, experts say.

Ya think?!