A recent study confirmed what many employees had already suspected: the order to return to the office was often a barely concealed staff cuts.
But while workers have to decide whether they prefer to work from home or be employed, a new survey shows that bosses are not following their own guidelines.
In fact, 93% of CEOs say they do not work full-time in the office but have introduced flexible working models.
A survey of more than 500 British business leaders by the International Workplace Group found that bosses’ absence from the workplace is conspicuous – even though a quarter of respondents believe that returning to the office full-time is their top priority.
Although working from home makes employment more feasible for parents, Pet ownersWorkers with disabilities and those who cannot afford to live near the office, bosses have called employees back to their desks, often in the name of Creativity and collaboration.
Yet, according to the IWG, only 7 percent of CEOs are in the office five days a week. By comparison, 64 percent of CEOs earning less than £30,000 ($38,000) are expected to work full time.
It is perhaps no surprise that workers who have suffered under the RTO rule are likely to be shocked by the double standard of outcomes – and CEOs know this.
According to the study, two-thirds of respondents know that they would lose talented employees if they insisted on their employees being present in a central office every day, as nine out of ten themselves work flexibly.
CEOs not included in their own ultimatums
Despite frequent absences from the workplace themselves, employers have spent nearly two years restricting employees’ attendance at the office.
Dell literally gives its employees Red flags because they did not take their ID with them often enough, while Amazon No more “coffee marking” by setting a minimum working time on office days.
Other companies went a step further and explicitly asked their employees to commute to the office or find another job.
Just last month Patagonia gave about 90 employees only three days to decide whether they would move closer to their office or give up their job.
Likewise, the gaming giant Roblox warned employees who cannot come to the company’s offices that they find another job– just like the bosses at Tick Tock And Walmart.
Then there is Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who warned workers that if they cannot comply with the company’s guidelines, then “it probably won’t work“.
CEOs want to avoid commuting – but low-income earners also want to
Why don’t CEOs want to work from home anymore? For the same reason as most others: The IWG study shows that they want to avoid long commutes.
In reality, inflation is high but wages are low. This also applies to unemployed Generation Z graduates who have to turn down job offers because they can’t afford to commute.
However, it is those at the lower end of the pay scale who are most affected by the costs associated with the RTO requirement and are also most often asked to commute to the office.
While only 20% of top earners in companies earning over £50,000 ($64,000) work in an office, this proportion rises to 64% for those earning less than £30,000 ($38,000).