Posted on 08/03/2023 10:38:50 AM PDT by ShadowAce
We’re now finding out the damaging consequences of the mandated return to office. And it’s not a pretty picture. A trio of compelling reports—the Greenhouse Candidate Experience report, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), and Unispace’s Returning for Good report—collectively paint a stark picture of this brewing storm.
Unispace found that nearly half (42%) of companies with return-to-office mandates witnessed a higher level of employee attrition than they had anticipated. And almost a third (29%) of companies enforcing office returns are struggling with recruitment. In other words, employers knew the mandates would cause some attrition, but they weren’t ready for the serious problems that would result.
Meanwhile, a staggering 76% of employees stand ready to jump ship if their companies decide to pull the plug on flexible work schedules, according to the Greenhouse report. Moreover, employees from historically underrepresented groups are 22% more likely to consider other options if flexibility comes to an end.
In the SHED survey, the gravity of this situation becomes more evident. The survey equates the displeasure of shifting from a flexible work model to a traditional one to that of experiencing a 2% to 3% pay cut.
Flexible work policies have emerged as the ultimate edge in talent acquisition and retention. The Greenhouse, SHED, and Unispace reports, when viewed together, provide compelling evidence to back this assertion.
Greenhouse finds that 42% of candidates would outright reject roles that lack flexibility. In turn, the SHED survey affirms that employees who work from home a few days a week greatly treasure the arrangement.
The Greenhouse report has ranked employees’ priorities as:
In other words, excluding career-centric factors such as pay, security, and promotion, flexible work ranks first in employees’ priorities.
Interestingly, Unispace throws another factor into the mix: choice. According to its report, overall, the top feelings employees revealed they felt toward the office were happy (31%), motivated (30%), and excited (27%). However, all three of these feelings decrease for those with mandated office returns (27%, 26%, and 22%, respectively). In other words, staff members were more open to returning to the office if it was out of choice, rather than forced.
Recently, I was contacted by a regional insurance company with a workforce of around 2,000 employees. The company enforced a return-to-office policy, causing waves of unrest. It soon became evident that its attrition rates were climbing steadily. In line with the Greenhouse report’s findings, most employees would actively seek a new job if flexible work policies were retracted. The underrepresented groups were even more prone to leave, making the situation more daunting.
At that point, the company called me to help as a hybrid work expert who the New York Times has called “the office whisperer.” We worked on adapting the return-to-office plan, switching it from a top-down mandate to a team-driven approach, and focusing on welcoming staff to the office for the sake of collaboration and mentoring. As a result, the company’s attrition rates dropped and the feelings of employees toward the office improved, in line with what the Unispace report suggests.
In another case, a large financial services company began noticing employee turnover despite offering competitive salaries and growth opportunities. Upon running an internal survey, managers realized that aside from better compensation and career advancement opportunities, employees were seeking better flexible work policies. This aligned with the Greenhouse and SHED findings, which ranked flexible work policies as a crucial factor influencing job changes. After consulting with me, they adjusted their policies to be more competitive in offering flexibility.
A late-stage SaaS startup decided to embrace this wave of change. The company worked with me to introduce flexible work policies, and the result was almost immediate: Managers noticed a sharp decrease in employee turnover and an uptick in job applications. Their story echoes the collective message from all three reports: Companies must adapt to flexible work policies or risk being outcompeted by other employers.
As we navigate these shifting landscapes of work, we cannot ignore the human elements at play. Like unseen puppeteers, cognitive biases subtly shape our decisions and perceptions. In the context of flexibility and retention, two cognitive biases come into sharp focus: the status quo bias and anchoring bias.
Imagine a thriving tech startup, successfully operating in a hybrid model during the pandemic. As the world normalized, leadership decided to return to pre-pandemic, in-person work arrangements. However, they faced resistance and an unexpected swell of turnover.
This situation illustrates the potent influence of the status quo bias. This bias, deeply entrenched in our human psyche, inclines us toward maintaining current states or resisting change. Employees, having tasted the fruits of flexible work, felt averse to relinquishing these newfound freedoms.
Consider a large financial institution that enforced a full return to office after the pandemic. Many employees, initially attracted by the brand and pay scale, felt disgruntled. The crux of the problem lies in the anchoring bias, which leads us to heavily rely on the first piece of information offered (the anchor) when making decisions.
When initially joining the company, the employees were primarily concerned with compensation and job security. Once within the fold, the pandemic caused them to shift their focus to work-life balance and flexibility, as confirmed by both the Greenhouse and SHED reports. Unfortunately, the rigid return-to-office policy made these new anchors seem less attainable, resulting in dissatisfaction and an increased propensity to leave.
As we steer our ships through these tumultuous waters, understanding cognitive biases can help illuminate our path. Recognizing and accounting for the status quo and anchoring biases can enable us to create a workplace that not only attracts but also retains its employees in the new age of flexibility. After all, success in the world of business is as much about understanding people as it is about numbers and strategy.
“’Gee, I liked staying home in my pajamas and working for 3 hours a day. Now I have to get dressed and go somewhere for eight hours to get paid?’”
And that is EXACTLY what these little snowflakes are rebelling against.
We have created a generation of utter crybabies and entitled little brats who will spell doom for not only themselves, but for a great many who are caught up in the chaos that will ensue.
Our government has spawned a generation of wimps. Societies made of sterner stuff are going to eat the wimps’ lunch as we older folks “cross over the river and rest in the shade of the trees.”
Two statements struck me:
1. “The survey equates the displeasure of shifting from a flexible work model to a traditional one to that of experiencing a 2% to 3% pay cut.”
Helloooo... Depending on your commute time, distance, and fuel cost, it may actually BE a 2-3% paycut. I live a long way out, and a rough calculation for me would be in that range. I actually figured it in to my initial salary demand.
2. ...staff members were more open to returning to the office if it was out of choice, rather than forced.
Kinda like making me go to squiggly light bulbs or an electric car?
Taking away anything someone likes is going to cause a problem. There - 11 words, and you could have saved reading that column.
My organization is also 100% remote. We have been since March 2020.
We've been #1 in the world at what we do for 9 straight years. We're not in a niche industry, either. Every country has an organization like ours.
All spoiled and pampered they want to work whenever they feel like in their pajamas from the sofa
BFL
They can't bring us all back if they wanted to - just not enough room.
And they apparently save a lot of money having us work from home - the slackers always found a way to loaf in the office anyway, so this way we don't have to see them loaf. And we get more work done.
I'd rather work late in my basement office during a program crunch then stay until late at night in an office 35 miles away.
“My company is 100% remote. We are gaining market share and attracting the best and brightest. Any company that can’t manage a remote work force needs better managers.”
Exactly. I think those who say remote workers just want to “stay home in their pajamas and work 3 hours a day” are projecting what THEY would do if they worked remotely. Prior to retirement I worked remotely - and managed remote staff - for 40 years with no such issues. In a typical in-office setting, one would be lucky to get in 3 hours of productive work - after meetings and countless other interruptions.
Gee, I thought these "underrepresented" groups were oppressed and suffered job discrimination?
They don't sound so oppressed if they feel free to quit these jobs which they allegedly have such trouble finding.
“No one should give a crap about employees feelings. It’s like crying in baseball. Ridiculous.”
You actually believe that baseball management doesn’t care about the feelings of their multi-million dollar talent?
So folks quit when they were instructed to come back or be fired? Seems okay
“The Greenhouse report has ranked employees’ priorities as:
Increased compensation (48%)”
There you go. Cash is still king. If you really want to get people to come back in, and not quit on you when you ask that, then offer them more money in exchange.
“And that is EXACTLY what these little snowflakes are rebelling against.”
Hate to break it to you, but I’m hardly a snowflake. I’m a 40+ year Engineer and Project Manager, and I’m doing my job extremely well from home for three years now.
If I need to have eyeballs or hands on something, I’ll go in.
Manufacturing type work and oversight needs your presence, but typing plans, designing process flows, and untangling stupid practices can be done mostly from my desk, and my desk doesn’t care where it is. For many jobs, it is not necessary to be there.
Good employees will give you good work from home. If you’re not getting good work from your employees, cut ‘em loose.
“No one should give a crap about employees feelings.”
I guess your company is doing great with its fully robotic workforce, eh?
Technology is such that home office set ups are now just as good if not better than the office plus the ability to work from wherever has never been more convenient.
There certainly is a benefit to hybrid working as your pool of experienced candidates becomes much wider but it’s up to managers to have a plan in place to manage those remote workers. In todays world (for most) - work isn’t where you go, it’s what you do….
Hire a boomer.
Best decision you will ever make, in this current environment.
Boomers have done the politics thing, they don’t GAF.
Boomers have already climbed the ladder, they don’t GAF
Career advancement? Don’t GAF.
But, expect to pay them well.
On location it is easier to set up teams and promote those that meet your DEI goals instead of performance.
Our government has spawned a generation of wimps. Societies made of sterner stuff are going to eat the wimps’ lunch as we older folks “cross over the river and rest in the shade of the trees.”
True. America is living off the social and economic capital accumulated by past generations.
Eventually the capital will run out, and America will collapse.
But I'm old enough that I (hopefully) won't be around to see the worst of it. Millennials and Gen Z won't be so lucky.
“Actually a lot of the best and most in-demand employees left.”
Yep, because the people who know they can go get another job (and demand remote work from other employers) are not the unskilled workers.
It’s pure risk for the employee, and almost no benefit. It’s also a pay cut, and a considerable one.
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