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 | | The New York Times |
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The return to office revolt |
After more than two years of remote work, more and more office workers are being called back to their cubicles. Many are not having it. |
How would you describe the moment we're in? |
Return-to-office conversations feel almost like a game of chicken right now. Employers have delayed R.T.O. dates so many times that they've lost their fear factor. So, some workers are now looking at these deadlines as abstract rather than as something hard and fast that's going to be enforced — which means that as companies have started to say, 'No, we really do want to see you back in the office,' workers are kind of looking at them and saying, 'OK, you and what army?' |
How many office workers have returned? |
Office occupancy is still under 50 percent of its prepandemic levels across major cities. Back in the beginning of 2021, when executives were asked about the share of their workers who would be back in the office five days a week in the future, they said 50 percent. Now they're saying 20 percent. So, you're really seeing a lot of the optimism around return-to-office plans kind of disappearing. |
Why is this happening now? |
Last summer and fall, there were a lot of companies that set return-to-office days and then had to delay them because of Covid surges. Even this spring, some companies are again reacting to Covid's spread by delaying return-to-office dates. And, for a lot of workers, the more return-to-office plans get delayed or suspended, the less rigid they seem. |
We're also in a tight labor market, so workers are feeling empowered. At Apple, we saw some workers write an open letter to the company saying that they really didn't want to go back to the office, and they used strong language: "Stop treating us like school kids" and "Stop trying to control how often you can see us." Apple recently suspended its requirement that workers return to the office at least three days a week. |
Another aspect of this is that the longer people work from home, the more attached they get to the habits they've formed — like not having to commute and being able to approach their schedules a little more flexibly. |
What does the next phase of return-to-office look like? |
We're entering a choose-your-own-adventure phase. Even some employers that initially planned for more sweeping office reopenings are now embracing flexibility. At Google, about 10 percent of employees have received permission to go fully remote or relocate from the offices where they were hired. Other companies, like Intuit, are allowing managers and teams to set their own expectations. |
On the other hand, we have seen, particularly in financial services, companies that are sticking with hybrid rules, like three days in the office and two at home, or even five days in the office. |
There was a survey in January from Pew that found that 60 percent of workers whose jobs could be done at home wanted to keep working remotely most or all of the time. So, we're definitely seeing a clash between executives, managers and some workers who really want to be back, and a lot of other people who are attached to the flexibility that working from home allows. It's an interesting tension. Maybe we'll get more answers this summer or in early fall. |
We asked readers how R.T.O. is going for them. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. |
"I have detested being back in the office. My work is not team-based at all, and I spend all of my time in the office sitting in my cubicle with headphones on staring straight at my computer screen. I feel like nothing more than a sack of flesh in an Aeron chair, making my organization's real-estate investment into the office property worth something to them. My advice is to be vocal about your concerns, and speak up when you're dissatisfied. Someone will hear eventually. If not, know your worth and find work elsewhere." — Vincent Wong-Crocitto, New York City |
"I returned to the office in February for the first time since March 2020 after having two pandemic babies. Not only was I readjusting to office life, I was adjusting to a life as a working mom that now included commuting, dressing professionally and getting called by day care to pick up a sick little one. I found that once I ripped off the Band-Aid, it came back fairly easily. I have actually enjoyed speaking with my colleagues, having child-free time and putting on real clothes in the morning. You might find once you get going that it's not as scary as you anticipated." — Grace Smith, Chicago |
"I work in higher ed. We've been back five days a week since August 2021, staked on the reasoning that since students were coming back to classes, we should be there, too. Now it's summer, and only a small number of students are around. Requiring our presence feels arbitrary. It's absurd when you recognize that tenure-track faculty have always had flexibility, often coming in only on teaching days. Junior faculty, staff and admins (disproportionately people of color and women) should have similar latitude." — Lauren H. New York City |
"It's dystopian. Our office is fully open, but so few people go that the lights won't stay on because the motion sensors aren't being triggered. I'll occasionally glimpse a human, alone in their office or a conference room, door closed, on Zoom." — Julia Marcus, Boston |
"My employer requires staff to come into the office three days a week. During just the first few months commuting on public transportation, I've had Covid, the flu and a bad cold within a span of six weeks (and spread it to my family, including a toddler who hasn't received all her vaccines yet). I was not an effective employee during that time and took a lot of sick days. If you're commuting on public transportation, always mask up — or double up. Try to travel off peak times." — Gigi Kau, Nassau County, New York |
"My return-to-office experience has been great, mostly in that I am able once again to more clearly delineate between work and life. I close my laptop earlier, I get on the subway and I am able to clear my head from all the workday noise before stepping through the front door of my apartment." — Alex Stevens, New York City |
"On my first day back to the office, my supervisor told me: 'Don't drink the water.' The water in our old office building has been so infrequently used over the pandemic that people are concerned about the water quality. That's just one of the things that makes it especially frustrating to wake up earlier, forego my morning workout and commute through Atlanta traffic to an office that no one has needed for two-plus years. What's the point? My advice for adjusting back to the routines of office life: Develop a mindfulness routine. And invest in a gallon-size water bottle." — Janna, Atlanta |
- A C.D.C. advisory panel is meeting Friday and Saturday to discuss the vaccine for children under 6 years old. No surprises are expected.
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We're off on Monday for Juneteenth, but we'll be back on Wednesday. Have a safe weekend. |
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