When the global COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 there were many devastating consequences, some of which are still coming to light today. As awful as it was, however, there were some ways in which life improved.
For many people, one of the biggest benefits of the pandemic was that companies had to let employees work from home. Much to the surprise of just about everyone, it turned out that employees in most roles were able to work successfully (or even improve productivity) while working from home.
While some people prefer working in the office due to the social and teamwork aspects of their jobs or personalities, the vast majority of people say that working from home is a huge improvement in their life.
Because of this, people have been reluctant to return to the office after the pandemic ended, and CEOs were hesitant to try to force them out of fear of losing top talent.
Well, now that the employment cycle is swinging back to a situation where it is harder to find a new job, many CEOs are looking at implementing return-to-office mandates, and the employees are furious.
Global research and accounting firm KPMG released a report that found that 89% of CEOs in the US are looking at ways to bring people back to the office, including offering better opportunities, assignments, and other perks who come back voluntarily. Many people think that this is just one step toward requiring everyone to come back.
Many major corporations including Amazon and Tesla have already demanded that all employees start working from the office again, with mixed results. As soon as companies announce that they are requiring people to report to an office, many of them start looking for new jobs right away.
This, however, might actually be what some CEOs want. Rather than going through a round of layoffs due to the downturn in the economy, they can get people to leave voluntarily through this type of mandate. Ethics aside, this can be effective.
While return-to-office mandates are already happening, and more are likely to come in the future, the battle for the ability to work from home is not over. Many people also think that companies pushing employees to return to the office will regret it in the long run. Top-tier employees who can always find work will gravitate to companies that allow a work-from-home or hybrid arrangement, giving those companies a major competitive advantage.
Working from home is a huge benefit to employees.
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