Despite numerous reports, studies and surveys that show workers value the flexibility of a distributed workforce and want to continue to work wherever they want, managers largely want a return to full-time office work, according to a new study from background screening service GoodHire.
In fact, a vast majority of U.S. managers say they would take a hard line on employees who would not submit to coming back to the office full time, with 77% saying they would take severe consequences, including firing, pay cuts, loss of promotion opportunities, loss of benefits and loss of paid time off, according to the research.
Slightly more than half said they would cut pay for employees that refused to come back to the office, 29% said they would leave pay untouched, and 10% had not made up their mind.
If the organization mandates a return to the office and employees express a desire to stay remote, just 23% would allow full-time remote work, GoodHire found.
While the GoodHire study did not solicit input from employees, other previous studies have shown that employees largely want to retain flexibility in where they work. Those studies also show that there is a disconnect between employees and leadership about the benefits of distributed work, and that may play out in the near future as organizations contemplate a full return with COVID-19 cases remaining low.
Nearly 70% of managers that responded to GoodHire’s study said their office was either fully remote or hybrid, and roughly the same percentage said they agreed or were neutral with the notion that managing remote employees was leading to burnout.
Despite the possibly of burnout, managers indicated mostly positive views of remote work, as 73% say productivity and engagement have either improved or remained stable compared to in-office work prior to the pandemic.
Aside from the what-ifs of return-to-office mandates, managers expressed positive feelings about distributed work practices, including expanding searches for new hires to account for remote workers, which 56% said they would be doing.
When asked about actually mandating a return to the office, 60% said they would be doing so, while 24% said they would not be. The remaining 16% were unsure of their plans.
Microsoft annual Work Trends Index, released earlier this year, found that employees and leaders will begin disagreeing when full-time on-site work is mandated.
The Work Trends Index finds that 50% of leaders in information worker roles are planning to require full-time in-office work, but 52% of employees are somewhat or extremely likely to consider going remote or hybrid. Those groups also have different opinions on the level of productivity provided by distributed work, as 80% of employees say productivity has stayed the same or improved since the pandemic, while 54% of leaders say the opposite.
Managers are also included in that disconnect, with 54% saying leadership is out of touch with their employees, and 74% saying they don’t have the necessary influences or resources to make changes for their team.
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