Some workers simply won’t comply with RTO mandates, Gartner research suggests

Bad news for bosses desperately trying to reintroduce the rigidity of pre-pandemic working schedules: 61% of HR leaders feel that employees desiring flexibility and empathy is the biggest hurdle currently impeding employee engagement, according to new unpublished Gartner research. This is coupled with Gartner data from January, which found that among 54 HR pros, only 26% said employees are fully complying with RTO mandates.

At least for the modest survey sample, attempts to entice workers with lavish amenities or offices that offer a “destination” have fizzled faster than the old La Croix in the office fridge. For Caitlin Duffy, Gartner research director, the data isn’t an outlier, but an indication of where employee sentiment stands regarding remote work.

From an employer perspective, “there’s this kind of reluctance to be too forceful about [RTO], partially because the talent market is still very competitive,” she told HR Brew.

How are workers getting away with it? RTO has been divisive for workers across a range of industries, with prominent clashes pitting employees against leadership at companies like Amazon and Apple. Currently, Apple is tracking in-office attendance with badges. Workers have also feared that opting to work remotely would mean they’d be sacrificed in layoffs.

However, Duffy said that some companies she’s come across aren’t imposing harsh consequences when workers resist. Penalizing workers for remaining home means employers are “not only forcing rigid, location centric-work design that employees don’t want, but also punishing them for trying to get their work done in a way that’s effective. And they aren’t really providing a good reason for that.”

Where is RTO headed near term? The workforce is thinking less about work, and more about, well, life, according to Duffy. “Rather than work as the center of life, people are just starting to see work as a piece that fits into their broader lives,” she explained. Companies that offer flexibility will be “the ones that are first choice on the talent market.”

As far as workplace attendance is concerned, offices across 10 major metro areas stood at 48.4% last week, according to data from Kastle Systems. The highest attendance percentage since the start of the pandemic was 50.4% in February.—SB