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The latest update from a survey by WFH Research, a project started by researchers from Stanford University, the University of Chicago and ITAM in Mexico, finds that 35 percent of respondents said their employers' response for not returning to office the required number of days was "nothing." GETTY
gettySometimes, it feels like I have surveys about return to office trends coming out of my ears. My inbox is full of them: How many people will quit if they have to go back to the office, what companies aren’t doing to improve indoor air quality, how much people will miss their pets when they return to work (pitched by a pet supply company, naturally).
But two surveys on remote work trends I pay attention to are the monthly results from WFH Research, a project started in May 2020 that tracks working arrangements and attitudes, and the quarterly pulse report from Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack with other partners about the future of work. The WFH Research project is done by researchers from Stanford and other business schools and features academic credentials and a massive sample size; Future Forum’s report also surveys some 10,000 knowledge workers for its report.
This week brought updates from both. Most interesting this time around: WFH Research found that when researchers asked workers to share what their employers did if they worked on premises fewer days than expected, the most common answer was nothing. That’s right, zilch. Nineteen percent said they received only a verbal reprimand.
Layoffs may be mounting and strict return-to-work policies may seem like a way to weed out those who prefer working from their sofa as economic concerns grow. But while the survey found some employees suffer hits to their performance reviews, threats of termination and even firing—read more in my story here—the idea that at least a third faced no consequences is telling.
“This is basically not being enforced in a lot of situations,” Jose Maria Barrero, one of the collaborators on the WFH Research project, told me. “Sure it’s breaking the letter of the rule, but it’s not really impacting the effectiveness of their organization.”
Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford who collaborates with Barrero, said in an email that he believes punishments aren’t more common as there are few good policies for enforcing such rules. A high-performing employee who returns to the office just to Zoom from a cubicle three days a week, even if four is expected, leaves managers with tough choices over whether it’s better to look weak by not enforcing a rule—or risk losing a star by pointless discipline. “The old saying is ‘don’t set bad rules because they are impossible to enforce,’” Bloom said. It’s true here too.
Meanwhile, the latest quarterly survey of more than 10,000 workers released Tuesday by Future Forum found that about one in five knowledge workers want to work at the office full-time—the lowest rate it has seen in its survey in two years. But one in three are actually working full-time onsite, suggesting a disconnect between the two.
Brian Elliott, who leads the consortium, told me few of the companies he speaks with are tracking how often office workers show up on site, and if they do have such a policy, many have relaxed them. “The mandate is being softened quite dramatically,” he says.
So, are you following your RTO policy to the letter of the law? Or doing a standoff with your employer and sticking with WFH? Drop us a line with what your employer’s policy is—and whether they’re actually enforcing any consequences. Hope it’s a great week, and thanks again to ace assistant editor Emmy Lucas for her help compiling the Forbes Careers newsletter.
FEATURED STORY
Will Employers Scale Back Perks Like Extra Time Off As The Economy Sours?
Many companies felt pressure to add mental health days and company shutdowns after other employers did the same—and were careful to position them as a response to Covid or stressful world events. But they were never intended to be permanent, say human resources experts. Will they be scaled back? Read more here.
WORK SMARTER
When is it time to sell your employee stock options?Interviewing amid a recession only makes it harder. Ask the tough questions. But beware of common interview mistakes you may be making—especially if you’re on Zoom.
Layoffs happen. Here’s what to do when it happens to you.
Career development tool: How to make the most out of mentoring.
A grim economic outlook, constantly changing office policies and more world events all create uncertainty. How to cope.
ON OUR AGENDA
Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to face mental health struggles: A new CVS Health-Harris Poll National Health Project survey shows 40% of Hispanic Americans and 29% of Black Americans who responded to the survey rated their mental health as poor, compared with 22% of respondents who identified as white. Black and Hispanic Americans are bearing the brunt of the mental health crisis that’s arisen in part as a byproduct of the pandemic, Forbes intern Ethan Steinberg reports.
Hiring cuts, freezes and pauses, oh my: As recession fears rise and preparations come into focus, companies like Apple are reported to be scaling back on hiring. Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly writes that hiring freezes are a better alternative to layoffs—something NFT marketplace OpenSea recently did, cutting 20% of its staff. Beyond tech and crypto, many predict layoffs will hit Wall Street as well.
Top-dollar: 324. That’s how many more times CEOs at S&P 500 companies made compared to median workers at their companies in 2021, according to an annual report from the largest labor union federation in the U.S., the AFL-CIO. The CEO-to-worker pay ratio is the largest since the AFL-CIO began tracking in 2018, Forbes’ Derek Saul reports.
Despite positive signs, more recession warnings: While inflation is at its highest level since 1981, there’s room for some optimism as gas prices continue to fall. The U.S. dollar’s staggering rally this year also provides reason for positivity. But Morgan Stanley warns many U.S. companies will suffer as less profitable international business will force earnings projection cuts and stocks to tank, reports Forbes’ Derek Saul, and as these worrisome forces grow, Bank of America economists are the latest to predict a U.S. recession this year.
A ‘botched’ handling of unemployment benefits: Speaking of Bank of America, the company was fined $225 million by federal banking regulators after its fraud automation protector illegally froze customers’ unemployment insurance benefit accounts, Forbes’ Julie Coleman reports. Bank of America did not deny the findings, but a spokesperson told Reuters penalties occurred "despite the government's own acknowledgement that the unemployment program expansion during the pandemic created unprecedented criminal activity."
Amazon notices: Amid meticulous performance tracking, internal documents from 2015 to 2021 from Amazon show the company issued thousands of disciplinary notices to its workers, Reuters reported. Yet while Amazon is reported to be writing up warehouse workers for small things, workers at other firms spend time shopping on the job for Prime Day—and it’s seen as healthy.
BOOK CLUB
Between the possible tide shifting in this job seeker’s market and a potential recession, the uncertainty is real. INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr’s book The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown provides a science-backed guide to navigating the unknown whether it’s a new project, career shift, business idea or life change.