During the pandemic-driven shut-down, most white-collar employees participated in work-from-home arrangements. These days, employees are hybrid workers, spending part of their time in the corporate office and the rest in their home offices. A recent report issued by Unispace entitled “Returning for Good” indicates that firms are beefing up their in-office mandates; a survey involving 9,500 employees and 6,650 employers across 17 countries worldwide found that 79% of business leaders surveyed have told their employees that pay raises, promotions and bonuses will be more limited for remote workers versus those who show up to work onsite.
However such mandates aren’t enough to entice all back into an office setting as there is a disconnect between what bosses want from returning staff members versus what they actually get when it comes to employee engagement with these policies. According to this same survey 83% of business leaders indicated that those who attend meetings virtually will have less share of voice than those present at an onsite meeting while 42% reported experiencing higher than normal attrition rates due to mandated returns.
Employees also expressed why they prefer working remotely over attending physical workspaces with 89% indicating difficulty completing tasks due frequent interruptions or too many meetings taking place within one space while 50 % preferring four or more days spent outside an office environment each week . To help bridge this gap companies should consider providing dedicated workspace (86%), socializing opportunities (33%) as well as free lunch options (83%) or even paid travel reimbursements(81%).
Ryan Caffyn Parsons CEO Americas at Unispace noted “We can see employers emphasizing value workplace but this may not be enough drive successful employee engagement performance…What our data highlights is employer missing opportunity better define purpose office how best enable full work ecosystems.”
