August 2, 2023
Trio Of Surveys Show Employees Are Still Resisting Return-To-Office Mandates
Three surveys show that return-to-office mandates are not working as employees are willing to leave their job, and employers forcing workers into the office struggle to recruit and retain talent.
Fortune reports the Greenhouse Candidate Experience report, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decision making (SHED), and Unispace’s Returning for Good report show a storm brewing between employers and employees.
The Unispace report showed that almost half of companies (42%) with return-to-office mandates have more attrition than anticipated. Additionally, the report states 29% of companies enforcing a return to the office are struggling to recruit workers. According to the Greenhouse report, more than three quarters (76%) of employees are ready to leave their position if their employer ends flexible work schedules, and the SHED survey shows that the displeasure of going from a flexible schedule to an office schedule is akin to an employee taking a 2% to 3% pay cut. Greenhouse also determined that 42% of candidates would reject a five-day office return.
Employers and local governments have been pushing a return to the office for more than a year as the commercial real estate market in large metropolitan cities suffers along with local transportation and eateries. Additionally, working from home allows employees to spend less money as inflation has pushed the price of lunch to more than $20 a day.
Last year, New York Go.r Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushed return-to-office work as subway ridership dropped significantly, and people spent less outside their communities. However, earlier this year, Adams was forced to backpedal his statements as workers rejected jobs that sent workers back to the office five days a week.
Unispace’s report showed when workers returned to the office through their own choices rather than being forced, they were more likely to do it. Employees revealed they were happy, motivated, and excited when they chose to return to the office instead of being forced.