“The conversation around work modes is one of the most important things to address and get clear on as a business. It often gets reduced to just RTO, but it’s actually a much bigger conversation around how teams best work together and is a leader-led initiative,” said Anita Grantham, Head of HR at BambooHR. “RTO is one of many different work modes, and if a change in work modes is needed, it’s important to handle the transition thoughtfully. Any hasty change to an employee’s work mode can leave your company culture in a precarious situation where employees are not unified, management teams are seen as overlords, and employee satisfaction will continue to nose dive.”

Performative Cultures and The Green Status Effect
Hybrid work and RTO mandates have unexpected consequences that have office culture shifting to performative tactics where just under half (42%) of all employees feel they’re showing up solely for the purpose of being seen by their bosses and managers. Employees are adopting various strategies to put on a show, whether working remotely or on-site. Here’s how they ensure their efforts are visible:

• In-office
  • 37% walk around the office so coworkers see them.
  • 35% plan meetings with other coworkers who are also in the office.
  • 33% show up earlier or leave later than their manager.
• Remote
  • 39% participate in social conversations in work messaging apps.
  • 31% schedule-send emails.
  • 64% of remote workers admit to keeping work messaging apps perpetually open, displaying a green “active” status to imply they’re online and actively engaged in work, even when they may not be actively working.
    • While all workers are taking steps to demonstrate productivity, it’s among remote employees that the “Green Status Effect” has emerged.

Management’s Not-So-Noble Efforts
Many leaders are using RTO as a tactic to increase productivity in employees or even prod employees to quit, leaving HR teams (22%) without clear metrics to measure a successful RTO. It’s clear these efforts are not producing the desired results.

• Efforts:
  • Nearly two in five (37%) managers, directors, and executives believe their organization enacted layoffs in the last year because fewer employees quit than they expected during their RTO.
  • Nearly a third (32%) of managers admit the desire to track employee work was a main goal for their company’s RTO.
  • Nearly half of managers say that the main goal of their company’s RTO was improving company culture (46%).
• Results:
  • Workers (both in-office and remote) only work for around three-quarters (76%) of a 9-to-5 shift; the other quarter is spent socializing, procrastinating, or doing non-work-related tasks. Put simply, all workers typically spend 2 hours out of every 8-hour shift not working.
  • When it comes to who’s more productive overall, in-office workers spend around one hour more socializing than their remote counterparts, while remote workers spend that time on work-related tasks and responsibilities.
  • Since having an RTO mandate, more than a fourth (26%) say a greater divide has developed between remote and non-remote workers.

“The distrusting and performative cultures some companies are cultivating are harmful to bottom-line growth and it’s becoming more clear that leaders should take each employee’s experience into account,” Grantham said. “It’s okay to have broad RTO policies but when 61% of parents and caretakers who prefer remote work say it’s because it allows them to fulfill their family responsibilities (vs. 38% non-caretakers) and 63% of workers with disabilities prefer remote work (vs. 51% of non-disabled workers), individual exceptions make sense. We’re striving for a balance between the needs of the organization and the needs of the humans we work with.”

To read the full State of Return To Office (RTO) report, visit the website here.

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Methodology
BambooHR conducted this research using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by RepData among n=1,504 adults (age 18+) in the United States who are full-time salaried employees that currently work in a desk job position, included a subgroup of n=504 HR professionals who have a manager title or above. The sample was equally split between gender, with a spread of age groups, race groups, and geographies represented. Data was collected from March 9 to March 22, 2024.

The post RTO-Return to Office Study Found a Quarter of Execs Hoped for Turnover appeared first on Digital IT News.

Compensation Adjustments for Remote Employees
While generally there has been speculation that employers would decrease pay for fully remote employees going forward, the Salary.com data shows otherwise. An overwhelming majority (95%) of employers said they would not lower compensation for employees who continue, or transition to, working remotely. This is a critical point, given that 83% of employees said they would leave their job if compensated less for working remotely. A vast majority of employees (94%) believe they should be compensated based on their skill set, not their location.

The same strategy applies to partially remote employees, with 97% of employers indicating they will not lower an employee’s compensation if they continue, or transition to, working partially remote. For those that would adjust compensation, 21% would adjust salary with employee contribution, geographic location, and concerns about culture as contributing factors.

“Remote work translates into a more fluid, and potentially volatile, market for how employees move from company to company,” said David Cross, Senior Compensation Consultant for Salary.com. “This double-edged sword not only means that there’s a broader selection of talent from which to hire, but that there is also an increased retention risk to the current workforce. Employers recognize that rewards need to not only reflect and attract these skills into the business, but to retain those skills of their existing employees.”

Compensation Strategy Shifts for New Hires Working Remote
The compensation strategy appears to shift for new hires. When asked if they would hire a fully remote employee in a different geographic market at the same rate as an on-site employee, 34% of employers said No.

For their pay decisions they would take into account:

• Geographic differentials (58%)
• External competitiveness (67%)
• Cost of living (43%)

“One-quarter of employers indicated they will take different considerations into account when determining fully remote pay for new hires, which could create a subtle class divide between new hires and existing employees,” said Cross. “This move could have significant consequences on employee culture and retention.”

Return to Work Timetable of Employers

• 51% planning to bring employees back to the workplace in Q2
  • Most prevalent in organizations with less than 500 employees
• 37% planning to make the shift in Q3
  • Most prevalent with organizations with 5,000+ employees
• Remaining organizations are planning to make the shift in Q4
  • Predominantly organizations with 1,000+ employees

Survey Methodology
Both the Employer and Employee surveys were conducted in May of 2021 by Salary.com. There were 743 employer responses from organizations across the US: 32% of respondents were HR professionals; compensation professionals accounted for an additional 17%; 64% of respondents were from organizations with 500 employees or less. A total of 549 individuals from across the US responded to the Employee survey:  36% of respondents identified as Individual Contributors; Middle Manager/Director accounted for an additional 26%.  54% of respondents were from organizations with 500 employees or less.

Image licensed by: Pixabay.com

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The post 83% of Employees Say They’d Leave their Job If Compensated Less for Working Remotely: New Salary.com appeared first on Digital IT News.

What Workers Want
Nearly half of all employees surveyed (49%) said they prefer a hybrid work arrangement, where they can divide time between the office and another location. Even if given the opportunity to be fully remote, professionals expressed the following concerns in doing so:

1. Relationships with coworkers could suffer: 28%
2. Decreased productivity while at home: 26%
3. Fewer career advancement opportunities due to a lack of visibility: 20%

At the same time, workers may not be ready to return to the office, and employers may want to consider what could help ease their transition back on-site. Professionals said the top ways their company can support them include:

1. Freedom to set preferred office hours
2. A personal, distraction-free workspace
3. Employer-paid commuting costs
4. Relaxed dress code
5. Employer-provided childcare

View an infographic of the research highlights.

“After a year of drastic change, many business leaders are eager to restore a sense of normalcy and welcome staff back to the office,” said Paul McDonald, senior executive director at Robert Half. “But reopening doors will bring new obstacles for companies to navigate. Not all employees will be ready — or willing — to return to the workplace, so staying flexible and responsive to their needs will be critical.”

McDonald added, “Regardless of timing, companies should take a measured and carefully planned office re-entry approach and keep employees’ health and safety top of mind. Leaders should also use the opportunity to solicit staff feedback to shape corporate culture for the future.”

For tips on managing change as staff return to the office, visit the Robert Half blog.

Image licensed by Adobe Stock

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