Return-to-Work (RTW) Mandates Increasing

A number of companies are mandating that employees return to the office, some on a partial-week basis, others on a full-week basis, and some employees are resisting. Amazon has stated that a full-time return to the office will be required starting next January, and their employees are not happy. Never mind that the line personnel have had to be onsite to keep the business running. The question becomes how tolerant companies can be. That is an individual judgement, of course, but the prediction is that the options for working from home are going to continue to diminish. Amazon is a very visible employer, but others are in the same boat. Approximately 80 percent of employers surveyed reported losing people because of their RTW mandates, but a quarter of those employers plan to continue and/or increase the practice. Half of the surveyed companies already have a minimum onsite attendance requirement, often four days per week. Approximately half of employers surveyed by Robert Half said they would be willing to increase compensation to induce employees to come back into the office 4 or 5 days per week. The surveying firm recommended that employers evaluate their overall compensation package, not just direct pay, to meet employees’ needs more fully, if possible.