June 06, 2024
A quarter of VPs and C-suite executives hoped a return-to-office mandate would prompt voluntary turnover, according to data from BambooHR.
In addition, 37% of managers, directors and executives believe their organization enacted layoffs last year because fewer employees quit than expected during the return to office.
The study also found that 32% of managers said their desire to track employees’ work was a main goal of their company’s return-to-office effort. On the other hand, 46% of managers said their main goal was improving company culture.
“The conversation around work modes is one of the most important things to address and get clear on as a business,” Anita Grantham, head of HR at BambooHR, said in a press release. “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.”
Some hybrid work and return-to-office mandates are prompting employees to respond with “performative cultures,” according to BambooHR.
While in the office, 37% of employees said they walk around so coworkers see them. In addition, 35% plan meetings with other coworkers who are also in the office, and 33% show up earlier or leave later than their manager.
While remote, 39% of employees participate in social conversations in work messaging apps, 31% schedule-send emails, and 64% keep 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.
BambooHR used an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by RepData among 1,504 adults in the US who are full-time salaried employees that currently work in a desk job. Included was a subgroup of 504 HR professionals who have a manger title or above. The sample was equally split between gender with a spread of age groups, race group and geographies. Data was collected from March 9 to March 22.