The impact of mandated return-to-office (RTO) on diversity and job satisfaction

by Rich Jones, Leading 2 Leadership

There has been a lot of noise around return-to-work efforts. The decision that “all” employees need to return to the office three to five days per week is either being driven by:

  1. A Board of Directors may be crossing the line between governance and management or is out of touch with what the needs of the employees are.
  2. One or more senior executives that “believe” people are more engaged, collaborative, and productive if they are in the office.
  3. The board or leadership team sees a need to fill office space that they need to fill, or because they are so proud of their office, they think everyone should want to be there.

Regardless of the reason, I have yet to see the performance of these companies has deteriorated because of a remote workforce. Where there is evidence of poor performance, it is an isolated situation that should be handled through performance management and coaching, not wholesale mandates.

 

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