Employer uses top-down strategy to get employees in the office

Some managers may want to channel some early 2000s boy-band energy as they say “bye, bye, bye” to remote work.

Global asset management and investment firm BlackRock announced a five-day return-to-office mandate last week for senior managers, or roughly 1,000 employees, Financial Times reported, in a move away from the company’s four-day, in-person policy. Junior employees may continue working from home one day per week.

This type of RTO mandate can be a subtle strategy to “pull rather than push” more employees to work in the office, said Lisa Newey, a partner at executive search firm Massey Henry, which specializes in financial services.

“By getting the managers in, the idea is that others would follow,” Newey told HR Brew. “Rather than forcing people back…the inclination, if their manager is in, is to also appear at the office.”

Trickle-down strategy. While many companies have a five-day RTO mandate, especially in financial services, Newey said, BlackRock’s approach is an opportunity for managers to encourage employees directly to work in person.

“In order to encourage other staff to come in, particularly on Fridays, which is one of the days that is quietest, [one of my clients] offers to take anyone who’s there out to lunch,” she said. “He is offering a carrot rather than a stick.”

Advice for HR. BlackRock’s mandate cites improving collaboration as a motivator for the return, but having employees work in the office doesn’t automatically lead to increased collaboration, connection, or innovation.

Newey warned other HR pros not to immediately follow a stricter RTO plan without considering how strongly employees rely on flexibility in the workplace, and if your employees need to be in person to do their best work.

Five-day RTOs “are not necessarily something that would work for all companies,” she said. “But I think striking a balance between flexibility and being in together, whether that’s drawn because the boss is there or not, is probably not a bad thing to consider.”

BlackRock declined HR Brew’s request for comment.