january--return to office (RTO)
The COVID Pandemic caused a great work experiment. Millions of “nonessential workers” were sent home and when and where possible worked remotely. Amazon shopping went through the roof since being in stores was discouraged because it caused people to be in the public. Click and order groceries really took off. You could order online, drive up and have the food put in your car’s trunk. It was a time that saw “home dress codes” go flannel with what I call “expando-pants.”
The pendulum is now swinging hard back the other way. Butts in seats, five days a week, 40 hours a week. Major corporations are mandating workers return to work—like it was before the pandemic. See this one short item I got off of LinkedIn:
AT&T to start full RTO next month
By Emma W. Thorne, Editor at LinkedIn News
“AT&T is mandating a five-day-a-week return to office for its employees starting next month, per Business Insider. For the last year or so, employees there have adhered to a hybrid schedule, reporting to one of AT&T's nine corporate hubs at least three days a week. But AT&T is hoping to avoid the space problem that's allegedly stalled Amazon's much-debated RTO push.”
As I’ve shared previously as the pandemic ended, some emergency management agencies mandated all employees return to work and some continued either working remotely part time or all the time. I know in one agency, two employees with great jobs chose to leave their agency in order maintain a flexible work schedule.
It will be interesting how this next phase of “work” plays out.
