Context Check: Return to Office

The paper, coauthored by Assistant Professor Austin Wright, suggests that fully in-person workplaces are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels.

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Since the pandemic, executives have had to rethink their work-from-home policies to better support their companies’ bottom line. Recent research conducted in a real company showed that employees who worked from home two days a week experienced higher satisfaction and lower attrition rates compared with their colleagues who worked from the office. This reduction in turnover saved millions of dollars in recruiting and training costs, thereby increasing profits for the company. Business leaders can learn valuable lessons from this study to implement a successful hybrid work model: establishing rigorous performance management systems, coordinating team or company-level hybrid schedules, and securing support from firm leadership. Additionally, executives should A/B test their own management practices to find what works best for them.

Executives should be focusing on employee outcomes and accountability rather than performative in-office appearances.

More than two-thirds (68%) said they felt they were "doing their best work" while working from home during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how millions of people approach work, especially in industries where remote options were viable. Many of us suspected it already, but now science backs it up: working from home makes people happier. A recent study from the University of South Australia shines a light on this phenomenon. Starting before the pandemic, ... Read more

Pandemic-era safety procedures have created a new dynamic at work, in which many employees say they’re operating at work the same way they were at home.

Management at some media companies want employees back at their desks as soon as possible, saying it’s best to have people together.

Three and a half years after the start of the pandemic, employers are getting serious about increasing the amount of time workers spend in the office and trying new strategies to overcome resistance.

Formerly empty desks are starting to fill as workers are trickling back into offices – and we now know a lot more than we did just a few months ago.

Amazon’s return to office mandate has re-ignited the debate surrounding remote work, paid time off, and flexibility in the workplace.

Workers stayed remote even when told they could no longer be promoted.

Researchers say RTO mandates could hurt women and underrepresented workers, who are more likely to avoid companies that don’t offer flexibility.

Extensive research shows that improving diversity boosts both decision-making and financial performance. So it matters for company bottom lines whether diversity is best driven by remote work or office-centric work. What does the data show?

Studies show women, people of color, and disabled employees, many of them high performers, are choosing job flexibility and working from home over going in to work.

If states and cities rush into forcing remote employees to return to the office without confronting the ongoing realities of the pandemic, they could cause new setbacks to workplace equality that will take decades to overcome.

A return to office could erase the socioeconomic and racial diversity progress companies have made.

Do return-to-office mandates mean the end of hybrid and remote work?

Not where we work, but how.

Editorial and tech workers are refusing to go into the office as part of a union action in protest of the newspaper’s return-to-office policy and lack of progress in negotiating a contract.

Keywords Studios staffers embedded at BioWare’s Edmonton offices will no longer be forced to return to the office. They had previously been expected to return to work on May 9th.

Recruitment agency says September was busiest on record as more people leave jobs

SHRM is a professional human resources membership association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today's evolving workplaces.

Many organizations that allowed knowledge workers to do their jobs remotely during the pandemic now seem committed to getting them back together in the office, and bosses are trying to get their teams on board. Although the pandemic has been a once-in-a-century disruption to business, navigating this challenge is no different than managing any other kind of organizational change with professional and personal implications. The key is to engage one on one with people to move people them from active resistance to neutral or supportive positions.

There is no easy solution for companies trying to craft policies that balance in-office and flexible working, as there are undeniable benefits to both approaches. But much of the recent messaging from company leaders demanding that employees return to the office has felt tone-deaf at best and dictatorial at worst. To be successful, companies need to engage in dialogue with employees and be explicit and honest about which outcomes are most critical.

SHRM is a professional human resources membership association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today's evolving workplaces.

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There’s no doubt about it: The return to the office will be another transition for many of us. However, by leveraging these best practices, business and facility leaders can ensure it is as smooth as possible.