Another week, another ‘Wave’ ???

5 news items from the world of work and workplace you can digest in 5 minutes.

This week:

1. Amazon tells managers to fire employees who won’t RTO
2. Remote work has been good for almost everyone involved
3. Autodesk says it's a 'failure' to force people back to the office

Forcing Connection: What happens when managers try to force workers to connect in the office? There is a significant disconnect between management’s perception of the effectiveness of hybrid work and the employees’ reality, said author and hybrid work expert, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky The Eptura Workplace Index found that, while employees yearn for connection, forced mandates to return to the office often breed resentment rather than fostering desired connection. Interestingly, non-managers prioritize socializing with colleagues as their top reason for coming to the office. A significant 47% prefer working near their team members, emphasizing the importance of choice in building genuine connections. However, genuine connections can't be mandated. Mandatory office attendance overlooks individual preferences and the benefits of flexible work arrangements, potentially leading to forced and low-quality interactions. “Organizations face a dilemma in the post-pandemic world: how to meet employees' need for connection while respecting their desire for flexibility. The solution is not rigid rules but creating an environment where connections can naturally flourish.” Read Full Article.

WFH Concerns: Remote employees ‘don’t work as hard’, says head of world’s biggest commercial landlord. Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone said employees had kept working from home because “they didn’t work as hard, regardless of what they tell you” and also due to the savings they make on their daily commute, lunches and work attire. The CEO of 高盛 , David Solomon , previously described remote working as an “aberration” that needed to be corrected “as soon as possible”. However, concerns have been raised about the equality implications of trying to roll back hybrid working patterns. Fiona Mackenzie MBE , CEO of thinktank The Other Half , said the “accidental” introduction of hybrid working in the financial sector due to the Covid pandemic did lead to some “fantastic progress”, aiding working parents. However, she said very few people defended hybrid working, and many chief executives were quite keen to “switch it off”, forcing high-performing women out of their jobs. Read Full Article.

Fire Remote Workers: 亚马逊 ‘empowers’ managers to fire employees who won’t return to office, reports Forbes . Amazon let its workforce know about six months ago that they would be expected to be in office 60% of the time. Now, a clear structure has been outlined for disciplinary action, for those who do not comply. According to reports published by Insider, the new updates have instructed managers to have one-on-one conversations with any employees who don’t meet the minimum return to office requirements. And terminating employees who won’t comply is part of the program. Employees have not shared management’s enthusiasm for the return to office initiatives. "By arbitrarily forcing return-to-office without providing data to support it and despite clear evidence that it is the wrong decision for employees, Amazon has failed its role as earth's best employer," one employee wrote, according to the report. Read Full Article.

The Golden Moment: The five-day office week is dead, says 美国斯坦福大学 economics professor, Nick Bloom . “Working from home is here to stay. I can prove it with data — lots and lots of data showing that returning to the office (R.T.O.) is D.O.A. A telling data point is the number tracking how many Americans swiped and tapped electronic cards to gain entry into their offices. This month, occupancy rates were at 50% of February 2020 levels.” That number has flatlined in cities across the world. “At the end of the day, despite all the noise some business executives made to the contrary, remote work saves companies money. It cuts overhead, boosts productivity and is profitable. And what is profitable in a capitalist economy sticks,” said Bloom. “Thankfully, remote work also has major benefits for society, including improving the climate by cutting billions of miles of weekly commuting and supporting families by liberating parents’ time. Remote work has been good for almost everyone involved. We should support this golden moment and lay the five-day-office-week movement to rest.” Read Full Article.

Hybrid First: 欧特克 says it's a 'failure' to force people back to the office. Many tech companies now have a return-to-office mandate for employees, but the software company is taking a different approach with their work from home policy by leaning into ‘hybrid first’. “At the end of the day, we don’t believe that just being in an office is what helps people to be happy, productive, collaborative and innovative,” said their Chief People Officer, Rebecca Pearce FCIPD who was the architect behind their policy. Managers decide when or if employees need to be in the office, and cubicle life has been replaced by more collaborative spaces. “I feel it would be a failure for us as an organization if we had to resort to compelling people to be here. We want them to be here because they want to be here. It’s all about how to bring people together for the moments that matter, that are better in person. For us, our culture is more than our buildings.” Watch the video.