Forcing workers to return to the office has led to firms losing their best employees

A person working from home using two laptops.

(Image credit: Pexels / Olia Danilevich)

Employees are more likely to leave a company after the introduction of an RTO policy, report claims
Businesses find it slower and harder to hire with office-working mandate in place
The researchers consider RTOs to be costly to businesses and detrimental to workers

New data collated by researchers from universities across the US and China has confirmed return-to-office (RTO) policies are pushing some of the most skilled and experienced employees to leave their jobs.

The ‘Return-to-Office Mandates and Brain Drain’ report tracked more than three million workers from tech and finance roles via LinkedIn to observe when they changed role in relation to company policy changes, noting businesses with tough RTO mandates saw higher rates of employee turnover.

Furthermore, companies pushing for in-office working are said to find it harder to re-recruit as a result of prospective employees valuing flexibility.

Employees want to work remotely

The researchers found employee turnover rates spiked by an average of 14% following the introduction of RTO mandates. Senior-level staff and highly skilled employees were the most affected by these changes, who are also the hardest to replace.

Female workers were noted to be three times more likely to leave a company following office-working pushes, with the researchers attributing this largely to greater family responsibilities.

On average, it now takes companies 23% longer to recruit new employees, while overall hiring rates have dropped by 17%.

The study concluded: “Our evidence suggests that RTO mandates are costly to firms and have serious negative effects on the workforce.”

The news comes amid an ongoing push to reinstate full-time office working, a trend largely reflected across the tech sector. Recently, Dell announced that its workers should be attending the office full-time. Amazon also confirmed similar plans.

At the same time, studies continue to be published showing that workers favor the flexibility of hybrid and remote working setups. We also recently reported that more than three in five workers are hybrid workers.

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With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!