Don’t need a study for anyone with a brain to know this.

The truth is, we don’t really have the data on this yet. Many companies enforce RTO as a soft layoff. Others do it to push surveillance. Others still have a vested interest in the office real estate. Some governments offer tax breaks to companies when they do RTO.

The point is, it isn’t about and has never been about productivity. Job hop & unionize.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

When the acute aspects of the pandemic receded, some who at first struggled began to settle into a work-from-home (WFH) groove and appreciated the newfound flexibility.

Many made the argument that the return-to-office (RTO) policies and mandates were better for their companies; workers are more productive at the office, and face-to-face interactions promote collaboration, many suggested.

Overall, the analysis, released as a pre-print, found that RTO mandates did not improve a firm’s financial metrics, but they did decrease employee satisfaction.

Drilling down, the data indicated that RTO mandates were linked to firms with male CEOs who had greater power in the company.

Although CEOs often justified RTO mandates by arguing it will improve the company’s performance, “Results of our determinant analyses are consistent with managers using RTO mandates to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad firm performance,” the researchers concluded.

Specifically, after an RTO mandate, employees’ ratings significantly declined on overall job satisfaction, work-life balance, senior management, and corporate culture.

The original article contains 588 words, the summary contains 166 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!