Return to Office mandates boost company profits? Nope
(2024/02/02)
- Reference: 1706869932
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/02/02/return_to_office_mandates_do_not_boost_profits/
- Source link:
Research has shed light on the profitability gains that the biggest US corporations experienced after issuing return to office mandates: There weren't any, and the policy made their staff unhappier.
Among the S&P 500 stock market index, some 137 businesses told their hired hands to haul their asses back on site last year, and these were used as the sample group by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh.
"Numerous company top managers argue that working from home reduces employee productivity and hurts firm performance and value," the [1]research write-up states . "However, a large number of employees vehemently oppose this viewpoint and argue that elimination of arduous commutes and enhanced flexibility actually contribute to higher work efficiency and better overall well-being."
[2]
Reg readers no doubt remember the time in 2020 when Dell pledged to promote remote working among its 165,000 employees, saying [3]60 percent would never go back into the office regularly , only to [4]renege on that promise in May . Dell isn't alone in demanding a return.
[5]
[6]
Google warned [7]staff to come back . So did [8]Meta , web conferencing-during-the-pandemic posterchild Zoom ( [9]irony not lost on us ether ), [10]Amazon , [11]IBM Software and, more recently, [12]all of IBM . There many others too. Some, including Roblox, told staff to [13]come back to HQ or sling their hook .
[14]'What's the point of me being in my office, just because they want to see me in the office?'
[15]Bosses face losing 'key' workers after forcing a return to office
[16]Office gossips beware – chitchat could choke your career chances
[17]Boss such a tyrant you need a job quitting agent? It works in Japan
The companies mentioned above were not seemingly highlighted as being involved in the University of Pittsburgh study. So what did the biz boffins discover?
"Results of our determinant analyses are consistent with managers using RTO mandates to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad performance," the research observes.
"Also, our findings do not support the argument that managers impose mandates because they believe RTO increases firm values. Further, our study finds a significant decline in employee job satisfaction. However, we do not find significant changes in firm performance in terms of profitability and stock market valuation after the RTO mandates," it adds.
'We've heard the feedback …' Microsoft 365 axes per-user productivity monitoring after privacy backlash [18]READ MORE
Previous Microsoft research pointed to so-called [19]productivity paranoia – when managers can't see their staff they can't be certain of the work rate. This is the same Microsoft that found itself in [20]hot water over its Productivity Score software that had privacy implications for staff subjected to it.
Stanford economist Nick Bloom late last year claimed the " [21]Return to the Office is dead " with "office occupancy" rising in 2022 but flat in 2023. That wasn't the case in the tech sector, where hundreds of thousands were ordered back in.
[22]
[23]Nvidia , [24]Atlassian and [25]Dropbox were among those to buck the trend. ®
Get our [26]Tech Resources
[1] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4675401
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/28/dell_q2_2021_work_from_home/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/10/dell_remote_work_revision/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/08/google_three_day_week_enforcement/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/02/meta_return_to_office_mandate/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/11/zoom_london_office/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/15/amazon_in_person_mandate/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/11/ibm_software_tells_workers_to/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/18/ibm_consulting_office/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/18/relocate_to_our_hq_or/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/29/wfh_report/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/29/wfh_rto_survey/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/11/workplace_gossip_study/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/05/job_quitting_agents/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/01/productivity_score/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/23/microsoft_highlights_productivity_paranoia/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/26/productivity_score/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/03/return_to_office/
[22] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/16/nvidia_working_from_home/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/12/wfh_mandates_bad_for_staff/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/23/dropbox_shrinks_hq/
[26] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Among the S&P 500 stock market index, some 137 businesses told their hired hands to haul their asses back on site last year, and these were used as the sample group by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh.
"Numerous company top managers argue that working from home reduces employee productivity and hurts firm performance and value," the [1]research write-up states . "However, a large number of employees vehemently oppose this viewpoint and argue that elimination of arduous commutes and enhanced flexibility actually contribute to higher work efficiency and better overall well-being."
[2]
Reg readers no doubt remember the time in 2020 when Dell pledged to promote remote working among its 165,000 employees, saying [3]60 percent would never go back into the office regularly , only to [4]renege on that promise in May . Dell isn't alone in demanding a return.
[5]
[6]
Google warned [7]staff to come back . So did [8]Meta , web conferencing-during-the-pandemic posterchild Zoom ( [9]irony not lost on us ether ), [10]Amazon , [11]IBM Software and, more recently, [12]all of IBM . There many others too. Some, including Roblox, told staff to [13]come back to HQ or sling their hook .
[14]'What's the point of me being in my office, just because they want to see me in the office?'
[15]Bosses face losing 'key' workers after forcing a return to office
[16]Office gossips beware – chitchat could choke your career chances
[17]Boss such a tyrant you need a job quitting agent? It works in Japan
The companies mentioned above were not seemingly highlighted as being involved in the University of Pittsburgh study. So what did the biz boffins discover?
"Results of our determinant analyses are consistent with managers using RTO mandates to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad performance," the research observes.
"Also, our findings do not support the argument that managers impose mandates because they believe RTO increases firm values. Further, our study finds a significant decline in employee job satisfaction. However, we do not find significant changes in firm performance in terms of profitability and stock market valuation after the RTO mandates," it adds.
'We've heard the feedback …' Microsoft 365 axes per-user productivity monitoring after privacy backlash [18]READ MORE
Previous Microsoft research pointed to so-called [19]productivity paranoia – when managers can't see their staff they can't be certain of the work rate. This is the same Microsoft that found itself in [20]hot water over its Productivity Score software that had privacy implications for staff subjected to it.
Stanford economist Nick Bloom late last year claimed the " [21]Return to the Office is dead " with "office occupancy" rising in 2022 but flat in 2023. That wasn't the case in the tech sector, where hundreds of thousands were ordered back in.
[22]
[23]Nvidia , [24]Atlassian and [25]Dropbox were among those to buck the trend. ®
Get our [26]Tech Resources
[1] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4675401
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/28/dell_q2_2021_work_from_home/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/10/dell_remote_work_revision/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/08/google_three_day_week_enforcement/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/02/meta_return_to_office_mandate/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/11/zoom_london_office/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/15/amazon_in_person_mandate/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/11/ibm_software_tells_workers_to/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/18/ibm_consulting_office/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/18/relocate_to_our_hq_or/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/29/wfh_report/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/29/wfh_rto_survey/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/11/workplace_gossip_study/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/05/job_quitting_agents/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/01/productivity_score/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/23/microsoft_highlights_productivity_paranoia/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/26/productivity_score/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/03/return_to_office/
[22] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZbzLXE-sXZ8HhC9tuKB0zQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/16/nvidia_working_from_home/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/12/wfh_mandates_bad_for_staff/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/23/dropbox_shrinks_hq/
[26] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
if you, as a "middle manager"
Joe W
... cannot justify your role, because you don't, well, manage, then we can get rid of you. And should.
I'm a team lead and process manager. If I don't lead the team and manage the process I should do something else. Simples. Take a new job or a different (more suitable) role in the company.
The management layer above me exist to shield me from crap coming from above. And to shield the above from some of the crap we do. They are necessary, and I do not want their job (and fortunately, so far they work as intended, and don't interfere with my daily work as long as progress is visible).
Coastal cutie
Exactly - wfh proves that good indeed often better work can be produced without the constant fussing and interfering of middle manglement, wedded to interfering in everything to justify their continued employment
Return to Office was never about boosting company profits.
Return to Office was always about the justification of the role of middle management. They have to be seen to be doing something under the pretense of productivity. When we worked from home they couldn't do that, and that in turn made them worry about their own job security. Which isn't their job to worry about, they want the workers to worry about that.
A worried worker is a productive worker isn't it? Well, that's the mantra of the (many) managers I had the misfortune of working under.