OpEd: The Hidden High Cost of Return-to-office Mandates

More from the article...

... We all know by now that many business leaders want their employees to work in the office instead of at home. But most don't understand why.

And we know that many employees want to work from home instead of the office. And most don't understand why, either.

As a result, we have a standoff at many companies where corporate leadership is imposing return-to-office (RTO) mandates, and employees are resisting. ...

Good oped, worth a read if your curious about this topic...

@#4 ... And that's because they get tax breaks for every butt in a seat. ...

What sort of tax breaks?

... That being said, there is a problem with WFH and that is the government is not getting the income they usually get. ...

How so? A couple sentences prior, you mentioned that there are tax breaks (i.e., less money for government) for those who work in the office, now you are saying that the government loses money because of WFH. Which is it?

... Dell's "return to office" mandate has left employees confused about which offices they can use and the future of their jobs " and concerned the initiative is a stealth layoff program that will disproportionately harm women at the IT giant.

As El Reg broke this month, Dell told employees they each needed to choose between resuming a hybrid work schedule " working from a corporate office part of the time -- or continue working remotely. Those who chose to remain as remote workers were effectively making a career-limiting decision.

The implications of choosing to work remotely, we're told, are: "1) no funding for team onsite meetings, even if a large portion of the team is flying in for the meeting from other Dell locations; 2) no career advancement; 3) no career movements; and 4) remote status will be considered when planning or organization changes -- AKA workforce reductions."

Another employee said: "Choosing to be remote does indeed put career advancement at a standstill. If you choose to accept a promotion after going remote, that comes with the requirement of being in office 39 days out of the quarter" and you have to reclassify yourself as hybrid. The employee continued: "Even if you choose to make a lateral career move, the same expectation applies. In-role promotions are possible, but rare enough to not be a realistic option."
In the dark

Our first source told us that the new policy is ambiguous. It states that all employees must be either hybrid or remote and will have a one-time chance in March to choose their preference. But Dell is yet to provide a definitive list of approved office sites. ...

@#9 ... The employees that chose to go to the office get the FaceTime that can lead to higher change of promotions over the unseen. ...

Yes, but that FaceTime also gives them better mentoring from others in the office.

That mentoring is one aspect of WFH that I see is a problem.

As a manager I felt one of the things I had to do was mentor and grow employees, even those who were not in my department. As a result, I often was asked into conversations in the coffee room by people not in my department and whom I had only met once or twice previously.

Until that type of mentoring can be transferred to WFH, I see a problem with companies developing talent from within, and having to recruit from the outside.

I am not against WFH, per se (geesh, I was working from home back in the 70's, but at 300bps [not a typo, 300bps]...), but how can WFH rovide some of the employee benefits that are present in RTO?

@#12 ... I really don't believe you were. ...

And, that concerns me... why?

... Who is at fault? ...

The development process that allowed that to occur.

I mean really. Are you an amateur here?