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The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

fastcompany.com

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Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#21

Post by MaxHoppersGhost »

rfwhyte wrote: post #12

The real reason CEOs want people back in office is 100% because they are broadly part of the same socio-economic class that owns the vast majority of commercial real estate around the world. They and their friends and family own all the commercial real estate, and high vacancy rates are are hurting their bottom lines and reducing the rate at which their property values increase, so they want people back in the office…

This seems pretty absurd that CEOs would make huge decisions for their companies like RTO just because their kid goes to school with another kid whose parents own a bunch of office buildings.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#22

Post by taylodl »

linkjuice4all wrote: post #5

"My advice to the many CEOs tasked with this decision? Just own it." It would be nice if we could get this level of honesty from CEOs - but let's not pretend that firing people is the only driver for RTO. Some other motivations include: - We took a tax break that specifies some level of in-office time per employee and we already spent the money - We're getting pressured from local governments to bring customers into…

You've hit the nail on the head. The workers know it's BS, they know they're having smoke blown up their ass, and they know they're being lied to. The next thing you know there's going to be companies complaining of poor employee morale. Wow! Who would have thought continually lying to your employees would produce poor morale?

Then what really burns my ass is these are the same people who are going to be whining to the major "news" outlets that "nobody wants to work anymore." No, we just don't want to work for assholes like them.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#23

Post by lnsru »

I am really confused when I think about all the big bosses praising cooperation in the office. And when a group meetings occur they call in from home while peasants sit in the windowless conference room with poor ventilation. I just quit a company who did full return to the office. I don’t mind 2-3 days in the office, but not 5.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#24

Post by daveoc64 »

MaxHoppersGhost wrote: post #20
linkjuice4all wrote: post #5

"My advice to the many CEOs tasked with this decision? Just own it." It would be nice if we could get this level of honesty from CEOs - but let's not pretend that firing people is the only driver for RTO. Some other motivations include: - We took a tax break that specifies some level of in-office time per employee and we already spent the money - We're getting pressured from local governments to bring customers into…

Is it crazy to think that working from an office is just more productive? Especially if you’re a big company and have a lot of new grads/inexperienced hires that are harder to train up remotely?

It's crazy to think that without having anything to back it up.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#25

Post by MaxHoppersGhost »

daveoc64 wrote: post #24
MaxHoppersGhost wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it crazy to think that working from an office is just more productive? Especially if you’re a big company and have a lot of new grads/inexperienced hires that are harder to train up remotely?

It's crazy to think that without having anything to back it up.

Do you have any proof you’re more productive at home other than staying you don’t have to commute and can do laundry during the day?

Edit: I’m not sure why I can’t reply to the guy below me but plenty of Google results about surveys that show WFH is less productive.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#26

Post by Kon-Peki »

rs999gti wrote: post #6

> The problem is, in 2020, employees took these remote-work policy changes as an "implied" promise. And that's where employees 'dun goofed. Unless they got permanent remote work in a written contract, this was all a temporary measure until the pandemic was over.

I agree. We were supposed to go back after 1 month, then 3 months, than 1 year, than 18 months, and then it was "we give up, work wherever you want - but for taxes and insurance purposes you MUST stay inside the state".

And now our office lease is up; CEO recently announced where the new office will be. It will be extremely close to his new house and will have desks for even more people than we have now. You'd have to be delusional to think that RTO isn't coming next year after the move is finished.

I moved to a new house during the pandemic and am now feeling very vindicated knowing that I focused my search on an area that assumed we'd go back to the office and that the office would eventually move closer to the CEO's house (there is published research about this). It's going to end up saving me about 45 minutes of commuting per day!

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#27

Post by jemmyw »

MaxHoppersGhost wrote: post #25
daveoc64 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's crazy to think that without having anything to back it up.

Do you have any proof you’re more productive at home other than staying you don’t have to commute and can do laundry during the day? Edit: I’m not sure why I can’t reply to the guy below me but plenty of Google results about surveys that show WFH is less productive.

That would be the same data wouldn't it. Provide some data that it goes one way or the other.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#28

Post by lapcat »

You can speculate about various external reasons, but I suspect the real explanation is less rational and more psychological, instinctive, primal: managers enjoy the physicality and immediacy of management. They love to survey their domain, as if a lord, to be able to watch their underlings, to stand over their shoulders or get in their face, force them to acknowledge and respond to you. With WFH, a lot of that is lost, especially if as a natural consequence the communication workflow becomes more async than sync.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#29

Post by t0mas88 »

throwaway9274 wrote: post #10

The problem with this idea is that the highest performers are the group most likely to quit.

Well... Those that are best at interviewing and selling themselves are the most likely to quit after finding a new position. That doesn't necessarily correlate with the highest performers. Might actually correlate more with those that also spend a lot of time on internal politics, which are good for their performance reviews but not for the companies actual performance.

Especially in the more technical roles most of the real top performers I've seen were not very good at politics or interviewing.

Re: The reason CEOs want workers to RTO is because they want you to quit

#30

Post by ethanbond »

MaxHoppersGhost wrote: post #25
daveoc64 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's crazy to think that without having anything to back it up.

Do you have any proof you’re more productive at home other than staying you don’t have to commute and can do laundry during the day? Edit: I’m not sure why I can’t reply to the guy below me but plenty of Google results about surveys that show WFH is less productive.

Yes, there's tons of evidence that distractions are incredibly costly, especially for complex or creative work, and that modern offices are super distracting places.

Sure you could imagine a hypothetical world in which offices were designed differently, but for the most part RTO is return-to-open-office, with multiple distractions per hour.

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