File under: "Another Conspiracy Theory That Turned Out To Be True"
Bosses admit that return-to-office mandates were meant to make staff quit
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/bosses-admit-return-to-office-mandates-were-meant-make-staff-quit
As the **** pandemic came to an end, a number of large companies pushed for their workers to return to the office five days a week — a policy that prompted many employees to "quiet quit" in protest.
That may have been exactly what their bosses wanted to happen.
New findings published by Bamboo HR show that about one-quarter of vice presidents and C-suite executives implemented return-to-office (RTO) policies with the hope that it would trigger "voluntary turnover" among their employees. Additionally, about one in five HR professionals said their in-office policy was intended to make workers quit.
This suggests that RTO mandates are really just "layoffs in disguise," Bamboo HR said in the report.
THIS IS KEY: About one-quarter of U.S. companies plan to require their workers to show up at the office more next year, even if it causes a decline in employment, according to a separate survey conducted by ResumeBuilder.com.
Even though RTO has backfired in many ways (not enough people quit but key talent was lost + bad morale) corporations say they want more office days! This tells me the "five days back in office" conspiracy theory is on the nose. These companies are desperate to get labor costs down without having to pay severance or unemployment.