BambooHR released a new study on the state of return-to-office (RTO) sentiment, indicating that 32 percent of managers admitted that their main goal in forcing RTO policy was to track employees.
According to The New Surveillance Era: Visibility Beats Productivity for RTO & Remote, approximately 25 percent of VP and C-suite executives – and 18 percent of HR professionals – noted they hoped for some voluntary turnover when initiating the return-to-office process.
As a result, remote (88 percent) and in-office (79 percent) employees noted feeling pressure to prove that they are online and working.
“The conversation around work modes is one of the most important things to address and get clear on as a business. It often gets reduced to just RTO, but it’s actually a much bigger conversation around how teams best work together and is a leader-led initiative,” said Anita Grantham, head of HR with BambooHR. “RTO is one of many different work modes, and if a change in work modes is needed, it’s important to handle the transition thoughtfully. Any hasty change to an employee’s work mode can leave your company culture in a precarious situation where employees are not unified, management teams are seen as overlords, and employee satisfaction will continue to nose dive.”
At the same time, hybrid work and RTO mandates have had unexpected consequences, with office culture shifting to performative tactics. Just 42 percent of employees are showing up solely for the purpose of being seen by their bosses and managers, adopting various strategies whether working remotely or on-site. These efforts are visible in several ways.
In office:
- 37 percent walk around the office so coworkers see them.
- 35 percent plan meetings with other coworkers who are also in the office.
- 33 percent show up earlier or leave later than their manager.
Remote:
- 39 percent participate in social conversations in work messaging apps.
- 31 percent schedule-send emails.
- 64 percent admit to keeping work messaging apps perpetually open, displaying a green “active” status to imply they’re online and actively engaged in work, even when they may not be actively working.
Regarding managers, BambooHR noted the following trends:
- 22 percent of HR teams are left without clear metrics to measure a successful RTO.
- 37 percent managers, directors and executives believe their organization enacted layoffs in the last year because fewer employees quit than they expected during RTO.
- 32 percent of managers admit the desire to track employee work as a main goal for their company’s return-to-office.
- 46 percent of managers state RTO’s main goal being to improve company culture.
More startling:
- Workers (in-office AND remote) tend to complete just 76 percent of a traditional 9-to-5 shift, with the remaining time spent socializing, procrastinating or doing non-work-related tasks.
- In-office workers tend to spend around one more hour socializing than their remote counterparts.
- 26 percent of those receiving a RTO mandate believe a greater divide has developed between remote and non-remote workers.
“The distrusting and performative cultures some companies are cultivating are harmful to bottom-line growth, and it’s becoming more clear that leaders should take each employee’s experience into account,” said Grantham. “It’s okay to have broad RTO policies but when 61 percent of parents and caretakers who prefer remote work say it’s because it allows them to fulfill their family responsibilities (vs. 38 percent non-caretakers) and 63 percent of workers with disabilities prefer remote work (vs. 51 percent of non-disabled workers), individual exceptions make sense. We’re striving for a balance between the needs of the organization and the needs of the humans we work with.”
BambooHR conducted its research using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by RepData. It surveyed 1,504 adults (age 18+) in the U.S. that are full-time, salaried employees currently work in a desk job position, including a subgroup of 504 HR professionals with a title of manager or above. The sample was equally split between gender, with a spread of age groups, race groups and geographies. Data was collected from March 9 to March 22, 2024.
Click here to access the full report.
