Many CEOs secretly hope that forcing employees to return to the office will make them resign
A new study from HR software company BambooHR has revealed the sad reality many companies are facing amid widespread tech layoffs and returns to the office in a post-pandemic work landscape, with the significant disconnect between employers’ intentions and the employee satisfaction is emphasized.
The survey of more than 1,500 employees, including about 500 HR professionals, found that a quarter of executives and a fifth of HR professionals admitted they hoped RTO mandates would encourage employees to quit.
The news comes as companies worldwide continue to struggle with their budgets through mid-2024 fired.fyiResearch shows that more than 90,000 tech workers have already been laid off, or about a third of the number of tech workers laid off in all of 2023.
RTO mandates are intended to force employees to quit
The survey found that 37% of leaders believed their companies had implemented layoffs in the past year due to insufficient voluntary redundancy. A similar number of employees also noted a suspicion that the push on office work was intended to increase surveillance of employees.
Furthermore, the pressure to be visibly productive has led employees to socialize and move around the office just to appear busy. Anita Grantham, head of HR at BambooHR, emphasized that this is extremely counterproductive.
Grantham noted that two in five (42%) employees felt they were only in the office to be seen by their bosses and not necessarily to do more work.
Remote workers also face similar pressures, with many adopting the “green status effect” by keeping work messaging apps open and running so that they constantly appear online.
Despite these efforts, both in-office and remote, employees reported spending approximately two hours of their workday on non-work related activities.
Grantham suggested that companies should focus on creating a culture that respects employees’ individual needs and promotes open communication. Without clear and supportive policies, the push for a return to office could continue to erode trust between workers and employers, negatively impacting productivity.