Featured in this episode of Tech News of the Week
The global pandemic we experienced starting in early 2020 was awful by almost every metric. And yet, one of the few silver linings is that people learned they could work from home, avoid long commutes and wasted time, and become overall more productive. It was a once in a century opportunity to experiment with what a modern workplace could look like, and I think a lot of people learned that you don’t have to clock into an office chair from 9 to 5 every day to be effective.
Naturally, a large contingent of CEOs and upper management promptly freaked the fuck out, refused to learn anything, and ordered everyone back to the office while sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling, “Nah nah nah, I can’t here you, nah, nah.” So, um, how’s that going?
A new study from students at the University of Pittsburgh looked at 500 companies in the S&P, some of which instituted full return to work and some that allowed employees to stay remote or work a flexible schedule.
Their conclusion? “Results of our determinant analyses are consistent with managers using RTO mandates to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad firm performance.” Ouch, not exactly a ringing endorsement.
The study’s authors go on to say, “tests report significant declines in employees’ job satisfactions mandates but no significant changes in financial performance or firm values after RTO mandates.”
If I could summarize, a bunch of firms pissed off their employees for no significant value. But at least now I can keep an eye on Derrick in Accounting, he’s always been a little squirrely.