Returning to work after COVID is a hot topic for both employees and their (future) employers. And recently, Apple employees reportedly aren’t happy with the CEO-mandated “3 days in-office” requirement rolled out recently and expected to go into effect as early as September.
“Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between … our families, our well-being… or being a part of Apple.”
On the flipside, MS, Facebook, and Google are saying that their team members can work from home half the time (isn’t that just about a half-day less than Apple is mandating?) all the while Twitter is sticking with the stance of letting employees work from home forever if they’d like.
So there are two things that stick out to our community members…
- Are savvy recruiters paying attention to companies that are taking an unpopular hardline with their employees regarding returning to work?
- Are companies NOT offering workplace/remote flexibility not doing so just because they haven’t got a clue how to do so effectively or for some other reason wrapped in the excuse of “our culture needs it to thrive”?
Employers who don’t already have a return to workplace strategy and communication plan are going to find themselves in trouble, if they haven’t already.
Are savvy #recruiters paying attention and targeting coveted tech companies who are taking an unpopular hardline with regards to return-to-worplace mandates?
Both conversations with CXR community leaders and various industry datapoints already show that companies can expect a wave of attrition in many roles in coming months. Challeges are also expected when looking to find workers willing to come back since being furloughed or who were left with the sting of feeling “expendable” in industries like retail and hospitality.
CXR community discussion here: When and how to bring employees back to the workplace.
We believe that both leadership and management styles are going to need to evolve in ways that for many may feel foreign or “softer” than they’d prefer. Managing and retaining employees effectively will require more soft skills than ever before. Effectively managing team members around their family events as epic as planned weddings or as simple as impromptu family walks is a real skill worthy of note.
With the attractive option to largely manage their own schedules and continue to put family and lifestyle before work as the pandemic subsides, employees will be incredibly tempted to follow a path of feeling valued over feeling like just another corporate drone. So it should come as no surprise that attrition and attraction will be twice the challenge for any company taking an abrupt and hard-lined approach to getting people back in the office in the name of “culture.”
