Why Workers Are Still Winning the Return-To-Office Fight

The return to office has been a years-long power struggle between workers and bosses. Even though companies are gaining more power as the labour market tightens, workers still have the upper hand. Why? Plus, why some Gen Xers are pivoting towards dream jobs.

Who’s winning the return-to-office stalemate?

As offices have reopened, many workers have been reticent to return to their desks. But as an uncertain economy has led to a series of mass layoffs throughout the past year, many large firms have recalled their employees.

In some cases, they’ve?backtracked on previous promises of workplace flexibility , often demanding a full return to office. Some firms have even threatened?disciplinary action?or termination for workers who refuse to comply.?

Yet workers are still ignoring calls to go in: meeting?mandates with fierce pushback, and threatening to quit if bosses brought them back – in some cases,?they have .

The pushback has moved even staunch supporters of in-person work, like large financial institutions, to?ease their demands.

Goldman Sachs first mandated workers back on a full-time in-person basis in February 2022. Yet?a year later, in January 2023, the investment bank’s office attendance was still?10% to 15% lower than pre-pandemic levels. In June, data from Kastle Systems, measuring entry swipes at office buildings, showed the?average?workplace?occupancy among 41,000 businesses in the US hovered below 50%.

How, when the power pendulum is swinging back towards businesses, are workers continuing to win this battle?

For one, experts say employers will likely always be outnumbered by these workers – and their subsequent desires. This means the situation will remain a stalemate for now.

“Workers will likely continue to voice their concerns about a full office return, while managers are unlikely to stop asking their employees back,” says Jim Link , the chief human resources officer at the SHRM .

Plus, adds Link, some of the continued resistance is because many workers are aware they’re still in demand, even during a period of mass headcount reductions.

“There continues to be a high number of job openings, particularly in industries where there remains a skill gap: tech and financial investment firms, despite their layoffs. This continues to be a source of strength for employees, who continue to prioritise flexibility.”

Read more from Alex Christian on why workers still have an upper hand.

The Gen X workers pivoting to dream careers

Millions of workers have changed careers throughout the past several years, beginning during the Great Resignation – professional pivots which some experts re-named?the ‘Great Reshuffle’ .

And although young workers – particularly millennials –?have largely led the trend as the workers most eager to re-direct their job paths, Gen X also reports undertaking career pivots.

One driving factor, say experts, may be the occurrence of mid-life setting in during the pandemic era. Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics and behavioural science at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK, says many Gen Xers are at a pivot point now that they’ve reached mid-life, and are re-evaluating the lives they’ve led up to this point.

His research shows that?many people in their 40s and 50s are inclined to feel unsatisfied or distressed about their lives, so look for ways to make drastic change.

“There's a lot of evidence that?the notion of a ‘mid-life crisis’ is a true scientific occurrence,” he says. “Mid-life, in much of western society, seems to be troubling people in a deep way. It wouldn't be so surprising that they're looking for some dramatic change. There’s a psychological low point that’s a stimulus for all sorts of ‘get me out of here’ behaviour.”

Oswald believes the pandemic made Gen Xers “re-evaluate their lives”, making them more willing to leave even well-established careers to seek something more fulfilling. In other words, many Gen Xers have shifted careers in the simple pursuit of happiness.

Read more from Kate Morgan about the Gen Xers following their professional dreams.

Why women prioritise their partners' jobs

Whether or not they mean to, many women put their careers on the back burner to support their male partners' ambitions.

Researchers for Deloitte’s Women @ Work 2023 report surveyed 5,000 women across 10 countries, 98% of whom were in heterosexual relationships. The data found that nearly?40% of respondents say their partner’s career takes precedence. They cited several reasons, ranging from financial and social factors to the burden of caretaking and household responsibilities.?

But the biggest reason women in the Deloitte survey cited for prioritising their partner’s career over their own was that their male partners earned more money. That’s unsurprising, given that, worldwide, some data shows?women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Pamela Stone is a professor of sociology at Hunter College in New York City, who co-authored the books Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home and Opting Back In: What Really Happens When Mothers Go Back to Work. She says many of the women she interviewed for the two books “saw a man going full speed ahead and prospering. And so, when it came to making their own internal decisions, they’d say things like ‘I knew he was going to be able to make so much more money than I could’”.

The choice becomes less emotional, says Stone, when it’s about dollars and cents. “It’s about who has the better chance,” she says. “If you’re a betting person, you’re going to bet on the man’s career being stronger, because there is gender discrimination in the market.”

Read more from Kate Morgan about the women putting their careers on hold.

Thanks for reading. Until next week, visit BBC Worklife ?and?BBC Business for more in work, careers and business.

–Casey Noenickx, BBC Worklife