Revoking employee flexibility and mandating returns to the office (RTO) gained traction among corporations in 2024, as evidenced by significant players like Boeing enforcing near-full-week office attendance and Amazon saying they will force office workers back starting in January.
Leaders often cite the enhancement of productivity and financial outcomes as the driving force behind these decisions. However, this trend raises questions, especially given the growing body of evidence supporting the advantages of flexible work arrangements in terms of productivity, employee engagement, and organizational growth.
Recent research led by Professor Mark Ma from the University of Pittsburgh, sheds light on the complex reasons behind the adherence to RTO mandates by organizational leaders, revealing motivations that diverge significantly from the commonly stated objectives of improved productivity and financial performance.
Their research shows that the push for RTO is more closely associated with managerial desires for control and a tendency to attribute organizational underperformance to the workforce, rather than evidence-based strategies aimed at enhancing corporate value.
What Does Data Around RTO Show?
Contrary to the prevalent narrative, the extensive data on flexible working arrangements illustrate significant benefits.
A recent report from Thumbtack reveals that remote work can lead to higher efficiency and productivity, challenging the assumption that physical office presence is inherently more productive. Meanwhile, insights from McKinsey and Aquent highlight that remote and hybrid models benefit teams and drive organizational adaptability and success.
The imposition of rigid, top-down RTO mandates without employee consensus can have detrimental effects, including increased turnover and diminishing morale, as outlined in the Return-to-Office Playbook by McLean & Company and other industry research.
These findings underscore the disconnect between the perceived and actual outcomes of enforced RTO policies.
Dr. Ma’s study delves deeper into the motivations behind RTO decisions among S&P 500 companies, challenging the conventional wisdom that these mandates are primarily aimed at boosting productivity and firm value.
The research does not find a significant link between CEOs’ financial stakes in their companies and the implementation of RTO policies, suggesting that financial incentives may not be the primary driver of these decisions. (Learn more about People Management Tips All Managers Can Learn From.)
If not motivated by money, then what?
The study explores the notion that RTO mandates might serve as a diversionary tactic by management to shift blame for poor organizational performance away from strategic or managerial shortcomings and onto the workforce.
This hypothesis is supported by a correlation between RTO mandates and poor stock performance, indicating that such mandates might be used to signal action to shareholders and the market, despite their questionable efficacy in addressing the root causes of underperformance.
Moreover, the research suggests that RTO mandates may reflect a desire among certain leaders to reassert control and authority within the organization, particularly in cases where CEOs exhibit power-seeking behavior, as evidenced by significant salary disparities within the executive team.
This perspective highlights the role of organizational power dynamics and the potential for RTO policies to serve as instruments for reinforcing traditional hierarchical structures, at odds with the trend towards greater autonomy and flexibility facilitated by remote work.
But it all depends on who you are, I suppose, because the desire for the trend to continue is also likely a reflection of executives’ experience at work.
As Keri Ohlrich, founder and CEO of the Abbracci Group said in a recent episode of the People Managing People podcast: “CEOs and executives are mainly men. And if you’re a man who’s been a CEO, think of when you go into the office, how lovely your life is. Now I’m not saying you don’t have to work, but you have a lot of people waiting on you. You have someone bringing you lunch, your entire day is planned out.
“You just kind of move from room to room. Here’s what you don’t deal with. You don’t deal with the dog barking. You don’t deal with a delivery person. You don’t deal with picking up the kid. It’s like a beautiful world when you go into the office, if you’re a CEO. So why wouldn’t you want that?” (Learn more about Giving Feedback Regularly is Key.)
Consequences Of RTO Policies
The research provides an in depth evaluation of how RTO mandates affect crucial organizational stakeholders, specifically employees and shareholders.
A pivotal aspect of this analysis involves employee satisfaction, where the study leverages extensive data from platforms like Glassdoor to gauge the repercussions of RTO mandates on employee sentiment.
The findings reveal a notable deterioration in job satisfaction, work-life balance, and perceptions of senior management post-RTO implementation. These outcomes challenge the conventional wisdom that RTO enhances collaboration and company culture, instead showing that such mandates detrimentally affect employee morale and organizational harmony.
The research uncovers no significant evidence that RTO mandates contribute positively to the financial metrics or market standing of firms.
This revelation critically undermines the foundational arguments often employed to advocate for a return to traditional office-centric work models, highlighting a misalignment between RTO rationales and their actual organizational outcomes.
Biases in play
Cognitive biases influencing leadership decisions regarding RTO policies, particularly the status quo bias and confirmation bias are shown here.
Status quo bias, characterized by a preference for existing conditions and a resistance to change, leads leaders to cling to familiar office-centric models despite evidence supporting the efficacy of alternative work arrangements. This inclination towards the familiar can cause leaders to disregard evolving workforce needs and emerging workplace trends, potentially stifling innovation and adaptability within the organization.
Confirmation bias further compounds decision-making challenges, with leaders selectively acknowledging information that reinforces their preconceived notions about work models.
This bias can skew the evaluation of remote versus in-office work, leading to decisions that favor personal beliefs over objective analysis of comprehensive data.
Implications For HR Professionals
The insights from this study serve as a critical resource for HR professionals and organizational leaders, offering a research-based perspective to challenge and reconsider the efficacy and motivations behind returning to office.
As HR practitioners navigate the complexities of shaping workplace policies in a post-pandemic world, understanding the nuanced impacts of RTO decisions on employee satisfaction and organizational performance becomes paramount.
While there is a trend around RTO right now, the long term view still skews in favor of inclusive work arrangements that align with both employee well-being and organizational objectives. It’s best leaders don’t over invest in a future tied to in person settings.
About the Author
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was lauded as “Office Whisperer” and “Hybrid Expert” by The New York Times for helping leaders use hybrid work to improve retention and productivity while cutting costs. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. He is a best selling author, consultant and behavioral scientist. A proud Ukrainian American, Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.
This article originally appeared on PeopleManagingPeople.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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There are some hard truths about being an HR professional. The job is demanding and often unforgiving. If you got into the field to be loved and appreciated, I regret to inform you that you have made a mistake.
That’s not to say that the job is all bad. There will be moments of helping employees and driving business results to keep you inspired. But I’d be lying to you if I said there weren’t also some moments of feeling overworked and underappreciated.
Don’t believe me? Comb the HR themed Reddit threads for a bit and what you’ll find is a series of the aforementioned truths about life in HR. Better yet, don’t comb them, just check out a few of the ones we found most erm… enlightening? Entertaining? Well, whatever they are, check them out.
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One thing to keep in mind before you proceed. While these are real experiences people are having and a somewhat accurate reflection of life in HR, they are not representative of everyone’s HR experience and should be taken in isolation in some ways.
Just like in a dispute between employees, context matters. So if it seems a bit doom and gloom at times, remember, this is not necessarily everyone’s experience. With that said, we’ve tried to keep it to things that emerge in a few weeks worth of Reddit threads. (Learn more about Myth Or Method: Is Trying To Beat The ATS A Waste Of Everyone’s Time?.)
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