10/30/2024

Why RTO Mandates are Often Hypocritical

A professor breaks down how leaders can resolve the remote-work wars

Coming up on four years since the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, workers are still waiting for their “new normal.” Instead, we have a power struggle that seems to have resulted in an impasse.

After what may prove to be a brief hybrid interregnum, CEOs are lined up firmly on the side of return-to-office (RTO) mandates. In a headline-grabbing move that some believe has signaled the death of remote work, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently declared that all employees must return to the office five days a week starting in January. Yet the response from Amazon’s workforce—nearly three-quarters of whom are considering leaving the company—suggests that this “death” may be greatly exaggerated.

How could the remote-work wars be resolved without hemorrhaging human capital? To answer that question, we need to dig deeper into the reasons for the return-to-office (RTO) backlash. The issue is not as simple as it may seem. While a whopping majority of white-collar professionals say they want to work remotely, at least part-time, the lack of camaraderie and increasing dependence on digital tools have taken an emotional toll on the workforce that is hard to ignore.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.