There’s More Proof That Return to Office Is Pointless

Photo: Dean Drobot (Shutterstock)

Your manager may suggest that returning to the office is imperative for the company’s success, workplace culture, and overall productivity. However, there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that’s bullshit. New research out of the University of Pittsburgh examined 137 of America’s largest corporations and found that return-to-office mandates did not result in significant improvements to firm performance.

“Using a sample of S&P 500 firms, we examine determinants and consequences of U.S. firms’ return-to-office (RTO) mandates,” said researchers from the university’s Katz Graduate School of Business - Unversity of Pittsburgh. The study found that managers use RTO mandates “to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat,” and concluded that “we do not find significant changes in firm performance in terms of profitability and stock market valuation after the RTO mandates.”

The study analyzed all 137 firms on the S&P 500 that have publicly announced RTO plans since the coronavirus pandemic introduced remote work. Researchers also looked into the motivation behind RTO mandates and found that firms led by male CEOs with greater power are more inclined to enforce an RTO policy. Power was defined as the CEO’s total compensation divided by the average compensation of the firm’s highest-paid executives. There was no correlation between a CEO’s political affiliation or percentage of stake in the company and an RTO mandate.

Unsurprisingly, employee satisfaction plummeted after RTO mandates. Employee ratings of work-life balance, senior management, and cultural values all had significant decreases in the face of return-to-office policies.

In the post-pandemic era, corporate management has become consumed with getting employees back in the office making it one of the most hotly contested debates in workplace culture. Even Zoom’s CEO asked employees to get back to the office, saying it’s hard to build trust over Zoom. This study, published Jan. 18, adds to several other studies that have shown remote work is very productive and RTO mandates could be causing a productivity slump.

Return to office mandates are still going strong. The United Parcel Service is mandating staff return to the office five days a week, according to the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The package shipper hopes this change, and 12,000 layoffs, will help the company bounce back from a slowdown in shipments. IBM also delivered managers still working remotely a stern message on Monday: move near an office or leave the company.