A new survey of HR executives illustrates something of a Catch-22: Companies want employees to return to the office to work, but if they push too hard, they risk losing talent: 71% of organizations that mandate on-site work have a hard time retaining employees.
The Conference Board’s survey of nearly 200 HR leaders found that return-to-office (73%) was the second most difficult objective, exceeded only by finding qualified workers (80%).
A few other key findings:
- 68% of organizations are considering or implementing strategies to increase on-site work: Team-building (65%), flexible days/hours (59%) and relaxed dress codes (56%) are the most common.
- 76% of professional/office workers are on a hybrid or fully remote schedule; 56% of overall workers are remote at least part of the time.
- Only 46% of employers giving workers the choice of venue say they’re struggling to retain staff compared to 71% of organizations mandating on-site work.
