In the post-covid era, one topic has become one of the most contentious workplace debates of 2024 - whether your workplace is mandating a return to the office (RTO) full-time. As workers and employers have been working to find a compromise on working arrangements, is this signalling the end of WFH?
When the likes of Amazon and Boeing, Tabcorp and even the NSW Premier start enacting return to office mandates, it's natural for other businesses to follow suit, but the data doesn't doesn't necessarily back the move being a positive one. Since Amazon's announcement requiring full-time in office starting January 2025, the Tech Giant has faced a mass exodus. And, spotting a unique opportunity, Aussie tech company Atlassian has launched a “Team Anywhere” recruitment campaign to try and entice the disgruntled ex-Amazon employees.
On the whole in Australia, we've noticed that employers’ expectations around working remotely, hybrid, or in office continues to change. Our team have seen hybrid 50/50 or the five-in-ten model most commonly implemented, but the consensus is a general pull for employees back in the office.
While fully remote/WFH is rare and commonly reserved for international firms, some organisations (mainly larger enterprises), are prioritising cost-cutting and productivity increases, without fully considering the impact on retaining employees and attracting new talent.
According to HR Leader "Legally, employers have the right to request (or mandate) an RTO if the workplace is safe and complies with all public health guidelines and if the employee has no reasonable justification to continue working from home."
Interestingly, a 2024 Gartner Survey found that "36 percent of senior-level job seekers who have faced a return mandate at their current employer said that factor influenced their decision to leave their organisation." Which is a notable contingent of the senior job-seeking cohort.
There have also of course been rumours swirling that some companies have been using the RTO mandate as a way of creating "passive turnover", whereby staff leave of their own volition, allowing businesses to avoid costly redundancies.
Seek have released stats to show that a majority of candidates are searching for remote flexibility and work from home, and yet employers are still looking to have full time in office.
Our two cents? It obviously depends on the company, the role and goes back to your employee value proposition (EVP). If your staff really value the flexibility that they have it's important to take that into consideration or risk losing them. It's no secret that a large percentage of the workforce since covid have adjusted their lifestyle and where they live under the reasonable assumption that this was "the new normal" and we wouldn't go back to days past where we were all in the office full time. Flexible work also gives working parents, women, older workers, workers with disabilities and regional staff better opportunities to be a part of the workforce. "In fact, 38% of mothers with young children say that they would have to quit or reduce their work hours without workplace flexibility" (McKinsey's Women in the Workplace Report).
All in all, communication with your staff, understanding their needs, flexibility and working to find ways that productivity, participation, morale and retention can remain high - we feel is the best policy when it comes to the WFH v RTO debate.
If you’d like any information about how to hire cyber security talent of all levels for your organisation, get in touch with the Decipher Bureau team. With offices across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra - and an experienced team around the world, we’d love to help you out.