Some organizations are exploring the benefits of a shortened workweek, while others — often high-profile companies — are taking a hard lean the other way.
Many workers prefer the work-life balance that comes with a hybrid, remote or otherwise flexible schedule: 89% would even sacrifice something for it, taking a pay cut or switching industries. And several years of post-COVID research have shown improved productivity and higher profits in companies with remote workforces, BBC reported Feb. 16. For bosses concerned about collaboration and culture, workers can agree on a happy medium, with both parties agreeing on about two work-from-home days per week in a December 2022 survey.
Why, then, are some companies so determined to see a full-fledged, five-day return to office? The difference could come down to a "hard-line" mindset in the CEO, according to BBC.
The publication consulted professors from prestigious U.S. business schools to learn more about CEOs who are bringing down the hammer on remote work. Stephen Meier, PhD, chair of the management division at New York City-based Columbia Business School, said he was "baffled" to see some companies fight so hard for an in-office workforce. But he pointed to a certain leadership style in prominent chief executives making that call.
"You can't continue that leadership style that you had before [the pandemic]," Dr. Meier said. "You need to actually empower [employees]. … And, I think, some leaders are just used to a certain command-and-control model."
When CEOs dole out return-to-office mandates, they are often unbudging. When JP Morgan Chase's CEO, Jamie Dimon, made the call in July 2023, he said, "I completely understand why someone doesn't want to commute an hour and a half every day. Totally get it. … Doesn't mean they have to have a job here, either." And Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees to show up or quit, saying the "laptop class" was living in "la la land."
Mr. Musk's love for his companies runs deep — and he appears to expect the same dedication from his workforce, according to Nicholas Bloom, PhD, a professor of economics at Stanford (Calif.) University.
"His life is his company," Dr. Bloom said. "If you're Elon Musk, you basically want to spend every minute awake and work. It's the place your mind focuses on. You love it. It's your career. It's your aspiration where all your money is invested."
Some CEOs of struggling companies might be using RTO mandates as a signal to shareholders. A 2023 paper from the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business studied 137 RTO announcements from the past year. They wrote that some managers use them to "reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad firm performance."
Dr. Bloom said these attempts might even seem "desperate" as CEOs look to prove that they have a revitalization plan. For example, United Parcel Service CEO Carol Tomé recently announced that the company would be cutting more than 14% of its management jobs; those that survived were expected back in the office five days per week. The news came after the company reported a substantial revenue drop in its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings.
"The CEO has to stand up and say something, and has to take radical action," Dr. Bloom said of UPS, "Otherwise she's out of a job. This is what's going on."
"I think a couple of these Sun King CEOs like Elon Musk have this problem," he continued, nodding to the French absolute monarch King Louis XIV. "They're just out of touch with their employees, and they're not used to hearing no … and they just rammed this thing through, which is a bad decision."
This forceful approach goes against an establishing grain, as more "soft CEOs" take root and "quiet management" emerges as an effective leadership style; workers want hands-off CEOs at the helm, and the freedom to do their work with as little interruption as leaders can muster. A conflict of interest between the front lines and the top seat could lead to more than discontent; it could spur an exodus, Prithwiraj Choudhury, associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, told BBC.
"I think no company in today's world can enforce a policy that is anti-talent," Mr. Choudhury said. "It's just not going to work. You're going to feel the pain. You're going to see some of your best people leave. And then there will be a course correction."