The Workers Quitting Over Return-to-Office Policies

Quit rather than head back to the office a few days a week? Workers have said it for a while, but some are now walking the walk. Plus, have we reached the end of retirement as we know it?

The workers quitting over return-to-office policies

It’s one thing to say you’ll leave your job if bosses call you back to the office – it’s another to actually do it. Yet now that many managers are firming up return-to-office plans, some workers are resigning.?

This goes for workers across the ranks, including top brass, such as Ian Goodfellow, who left his post as Apple’s director of machine learning in May. Some experts aren’t surprised it’s taken this long for a high-profile leader to quit. Could resignations like these be a sign the dominoes are about to fall??

Read more on the workers who are leaving instead of returning to their desks.

Is this the end of retirement as we know it?

Lazing in the sun, playing golf? For some, this rosy picture of retirement is antiquated – and workers may need to gear up for a different future.

Now, there are an increasing number of workers like Anthony, who retired from his job at a shipping multinational in his late 50s, only to find that his retirement plan didn’t account for historic inflation increases. He’s back at the same company on a project basis, making about the same as his former salary, plus his pension, to help with costs.

There are also people like Richard, who retired from a medical device company a year ago. But only a few months later – motivated by both rising living costs and boredom – he was job hunting again. He now has another full-time position in the education sector. “I just wanted to do something productive,” he says.

Read more on the workers unretiring – and what this might mean for you.

Why Gen Z workers are already so burned out

Many of us are tired and at the breaking point, but perhaps you’d expect the youngest workers to be in a better position. After all, they’re new to the workforce, with lots of pep, right?

Maybe not. Gen Zers are reporting burnout, too, even in the nascent stages of their careers. They’re getting all-hours requests as the lowest workers on the ladder, all while feeling the cost-of-living squeeze. Some are staying in jobs they hate, despite stress; others are already leaving their posts after just a short period.

Read more on why younger workers are already exhausted.

More of the best around the BBC this week:

• Is the ‘remote work window’ about to close?
• New airlines are betting flying is about to take off.
• People from five countries report on the skyrocketing cost of living.
• NatWest’s first female boss: a role model and an agitator.

We’ll be back with another edition next week. Until then, find more at?BBC Worklife?and?BBC Business, where we cover the best of work, careers and business.

Images: Getty Images?