[Scharon Harding at Ars Technica]

From the "gee, you don't say" department:

"Return-to-office (RTO) mandates have caused companies to lose some of their best workers, a study tracking over 3 million workers at 54 "high-tech and financial" firms at the S&P 500 index has found. These companies also have greater challenges finding new talent, the report concluded."

The study finds that RTO policies increased turnover rates by 14% - although, of course, in many cases that was part of the point, as a kind of quiet layoff that didn't involve the same level of bad press or the financial commitments to departing employees. (As part of the study, 25% of executives admitted to this. Which is a lot!)

The study also calls out that RTO rules convey "a culture of distrust that encourages management through monitoring," which is spot on - and nobody wants to feel like they're being surveilled or treated like children.

Don't get me wrong: I love coming into the office from time to time. But RTO policies - at least for most knowledge workers - are an employee-hostile policy.

#Labor

[Link]