Who's afraid of the big bad RTO
Trump’s most recent return to office mandate for federal employees (via Executive Order) and WPP’s organization-wide RTO got me thinking… is this what people want? Have attitudes drastically changed toward remote work? In short, nope.
During the COVID pandemic, remote work for corporate and federal employees became a necessity. It felt weird initially, but we eventually started to really feel the benefits, or at least most of us did. And by the numbers, businesses also saw lots of successes. It really felt like a win-win. Employees were happier, able to better work-life balance and businesses experienced higher levels of productivity and profits (while also retaining happier employees).
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But slowly, as the world began to open up again, workers began to return to office (either by choice or forced), but it really looked like the corporate office dynamics had shifted toward more flexibility and that it would stay that way… I mean the data speaks for itself, right? Everyone’s happier.
So why now? Why are we going back to the dark, pre-pandemic days now? My last few years of keeping an eye on the shifting dynamics points to one stated reason (lots of other un-stated reasons, that feel more like conspiracy so I won’t go there)… Culture.
Culture… a word loved by Leadership and disdained by most employees. I think at one point, “culture” had meaning. It described an organization’s specific approach to the office environment and set tone and expectations for their employees. It felt unique and prescriptive. Now, it feels like the Millennial Gray of corporate speak. It doesn’t really say anything and when people use it, you feel a little gross. It would be more direct to just say “We’re cool, we promise”.
Is that really the reason we’re all being made to go back into the office? Because “culture”? Was it really that great and important before? Collaboration and in-person relationships are important, but that can be had with a pretty flexible in-office policy while still retaining all the great things about remote work.
And now, with culture being the sole reason for our forced return, it’s almost guaranteed that we’ll disdain the “culture” Leadership so badly wants us to adopt and love. Me thinks we’ll all be more resentful than we already were.
Trump’s EO applies only to federal workers but this has broader implications and sets a tone. Corporate America will see this move as permission to do the same, even though it flies in the face of our lived experiences and the factual data.
What comes next will be interesting and the way businesses operate will very likely impact the type of talent they attract and retain
