Return to the office (RTO) will backfire
posted on in: RTO, layoffs, backfire and leadership.
~305 words, about a 2 min read.
When companies decide to follow through with RTO, hiring and retaining talent becomes much harder to do. The companies reduce headcount (backdoor layoff to be clear), losing some of their best workers while also smelling like dead skunk when trying to hire new people (come work for us -- five days a week in the office!). Taylor Telford for the Washington Post reports:
Research from the University of Pittsburgh published last month highlights the challenges companies face in hiring and retention following RTO mandates. Such firms experienced “abnormally high turnover,” which was “more pronounced for female employees, more senior employees, and more skilled employees.” Furthermore, they took “significantly longer” to fill vacancies and saw their hire rates “significantly decrease,” researchers noted.
In other words, RTO backfires. Many offices are not even ready to handle the increased demand for office space. When pressed as to why pursue a boneheaded decision, knowing some top performers will leave, leaders such as AWS CEO, Matt Garman, throws jazz hands and industry jargon such as "synergy" or "to facilitate innovation and collaboration" is said with a straight face. Don't take my word, 500 AWS workers signed a letter to their CEO asking to reconsider:
"In the letter, which was first reported by Reuters, workers argued the policy is “not data-driven” and that it’s “breaking the trust” of hardworking employees who have benefited from flexible arrangements."
Notably, unions are pushing back.
Union employees of the video game publisher [Activision] held rallies in late October, alleging that Activision and its parent company Microsoft have denied remote work accommodations to workers who are covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Once again, I'd like to remind people, corporations and billionaires are so poor, all they have is money.