Is forcing employees to return to the office helping or hurting their performance?
We saw a remote work revolution throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but now we’re hearing more and more stories of leaders and managers enforcing a mandatory return to on-site working.
Shoutout to University of Pittsburgh Business professor Mark Ma for his recent research that found return to office mandates are reducing employee satisfaction and not actually helping the bottom line.
If you’re considering a return to office mandate, I’d really encourage you to think through these questions first:
1. What is your goal in mandating a return? (company culture, turnover, supervision, bottom line)
2. Have you asked your employees about their feelings and perspectives?
3. What are the potential negative consequences of enforcing this mandate? And are you willing to face and accept them?
It might be the right move for your culture, but we’ve seen too many people fall victim to the idea that the best work has to happen in a physical office.
We all know that COVID proved that isn’t true – so don’t force it if it’s not the best decision for your folks.
