[Global] Mandatory return to office is ‘dinosaur management’

Following earlier rounds of return to office mandates in 2023, many companies have begun introducing more punitive measures to force their employees back into the office, Business Insider reports.

These measures include actively tracking attendance, micromanaging employees' time and denying remote workers bonuses and career progression.

Earlier this month, Dell told staff that the majority of its workers will have to come into the office an average of three days a week. Individuals who prefer to continue working remotely could request special classification but would not be considered for promotion.

Citibank is another company using financial threats, reportedly docking the bonuses of anyone who fails to come into the office three days a week, according to reporting from The Times.

Amazon is emailing employees about their attendance, creating an internal dashboard tracking each employee and permitting managers to fire employees who do not meet return to office requirements.

Other measures have included forced relocation, according to internal guidelines obtained by Business Insider in 2023. Workers who refuse to relocate would have to leave the company without severance. A move Amazon reportedly called a "voluntary resignation."

In addition, Amazon added a no-promotion policy for perennial remote workers in November 2023. Only employees who come into the office three times a week will be eligible to be promoted.

An Amazon representative told Business Insider in an email that compliance with the RTO policy was one of the many factors it considers before an employee is promoted.

Other companies including Google and Ernst & Young (EY), are introducing new attendance monitoring measures, reportedly using the data in performance reviews.

Cary Cooper - University of Manchester organisational psychologist and author of "Remote Workplace Culture" - told Business Insider that the increased oversight is symptomatic of an outdated management strategy.

"It's dinosaur management of the highest order. They don't understand the marketplace for talent, and they're going to be in trouble as a consequence," he said.

Mr Cooper reportedly described the monitoring of staff as "micromanagement of the highest order, adding that if companies fail to update these "appalling" policies they will ultimately suffer.

"They'll lose talent. And they won't be able to recruit good people," he said. "That brand is going to be tarnished. People will say 'I'm not even going to apply for a job there because they want me in five days a week.'"

With layoffs impacting multiple industries, suspicions are reportedly growing that inflexible demands to attend the office are a strategy to push out more staff; a phenomenon known as "quiet firing."

Speaking to Business Insider, remote employees at Dell and Amazon said they believe their company's return to office mandates are intended to push out workers who live a long way from office hubs, helping such organisations swerve negative publicity from further layoffs.

Mr Cooper cautioned that stricter policies like these indirectly impact some more than others, exposing employers to legal challenges.

Women, for example, ordinarily take on the bulk of family and caring responsibilities and as such benefit more from flexible remote work policies. They will take a bigger hit from punitive policies, Mr Cooper said.

Tata Consultancy Services - India's largest IT company - reportedly mandated all its global employees to return to the office five days a week. Following the order, many female employees left the firm.

Older employees - often living in more rural areas with a longer commute, according to a survey by Gusto - could also be adversely affected if further companies punish those unable to attend the office, Mr Cooper said.

Depression and anxiety have reached record levels in the US, Gallup polling showed, leading workers with mental illnesses to argue that they should be granted accommodations to avoid returning to the workplace.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recorded a 16 per cent increase in mental health disability complaints between 2021 and 2022 from employees who want remote work allowances, according to reporting from The Hill (via BI).

A commission representative reportedly told Business Insider that any employer denying or limiting bonuses for individuals granted an accommodation to work from home could open themself up to retaliatory claims.

With research revealing that return-to-work policies do not improve performance, exacting punishments on employees who cannot or will not come into the office could create a challenging legal landscape for employers.

Source: Business Insider

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

Following earlier rounds of return to office mandates in 2023, many companies have begun introducing more punitive measures to force their employees back into the office, Business Insider reports.

These measures include actively tracking attendance, micromanaging employees' time and denying remote workers bonuses and career progression.

Earlier this month, Dell told staff that the majority of its workers will have to come into the office an average of three days a week. Individuals who prefer to continue working remotely could request special classification but would not be considered for promotion.

Citibank is another company using financial threats, reportedly docking the bonuses of anyone who fails to come into the office three days a week, according to reporting from The Times.

Amazon is emailing employees about their attendance, creating an internal dashboard tracking each employee and permitting managers to fire employees who do not meet return to office requirements.

Other measures have included forced relocation, according to internal guidelines obtained by Business Insider in 2023. Workers who refuse to relocate would have to leave the company without severance. A move Amazon reportedly called a "voluntary resignation."

In addition, Amazon added a no-promotion policy for perennial remote workers in November 2023. Only employees who come into the office three times a week will be eligible to be promoted.

An Amazon representative told Business Insider in an email that compliance with the RTO policy was one of the many factors it considers before an employee is promoted.

Other companies including Google and Ernst & Young (EY), are introducing new attendance monitoring measures, reportedly using the data in performance reviews.

Cary Cooper - University of Manchester organisational psychologist and author of "Remote Workplace Culture" - told Business Insider that the increased oversight is symptomatic of an outdated management strategy.

"It's dinosaur management of the highest order. They don't understand the marketplace for talent, and they're going to be in trouble as a consequence," he said.

Mr Cooper reportedly described the monitoring of staff as "micromanagement of the highest order, adding that if companies fail to update these "appalling" policies they will ultimately suffer.

"They'll lose talent. And they won't be able to recruit good people," he said. "That brand is going to be tarnished. People will say 'I'm not even going to apply for a job there because they want me in five days a week.'"

With layoffs impacting multiple industries, suspicions are reportedly growing that inflexible demands to attend the office are a strategy to push out more staff; a phenomenon known as "quiet firing."

Speaking to Business Insider, remote employees at Dell and Amazon said they believe their company's return to office mandates are intended to push out workers who live a long way from office hubs, helping such organisations swerve negative publicity from further layoffs.

Mr Cooper cautioned that stricter policies like these indirectly impact some more than others, exposing employers to legal challenges.

Women, for example, ordinarily take on the bulk of family and caring responsibilities and as such benefit more from flexible remote work policies. They will take a bigger hit from punitive policies, Mr Cooper said.

Tata Consultancy Services - India's largest IT company - reportedly mandated all its global employees to return to the office five days a week. Following the order, many female employees left the firm.

Older employees - often living in more rural areas with a longer commute, according to a survey by Gusto - could also be adversely affected if further companies punish those unable to attend the office, Mr Cooper said.

Depression and anxiety have reached record levels in the US, Gallup polling showed, leading workers with mental illnesses to argue that they should be granted accommodations to avoid returning to the workplace.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recorded a 16 per cent increase in mental health disability complaints between 2021 and 2022 from employees who want remote work allowances, according to reporting from The Hill (via BI).

A commission representative reportedly told Business Insider that any employer denying or limiting bonuses for individuals granted an accommodation to work from home could open themself up to retaliatory claims.

With research revealing that return-to-work policies do not improve performance, exacting punishments on employees who cannot or will not come into the office could create a challenging legal landscape for employers.

Source: Business Insider

(Links and quotes via original reporting)