My friend works as a corporate “efficiency expert,” and yes, we joke about Office Space with him all the time. According to him, one of the latest tools for cutting labor costs is the inflated perception of WFH positions. Many people are willing to accept lower pay for a remote role, making it a highly effective tool for companies to leverage against workers. The strategy described in the article is precisely what he and others are advising corporate clients to use. As a result, you’ll likely see more companies adopt this approach in workplaces that mix WFH and RTO policies.
This explains why RTO mandates are becoming more common. The increased push for RTO makes fully remote jobs rarer, which in turn heightens competition for these positions. RTO also serves as a cheap and easy tactic for downsizing—companies can issue an RTO mandate, see a voluntary exodus, and then re-advertise those same roles as remote positions with reduced pay. Often, they hire fewer people overall. With such fierce demand for WFH, businesses can reduce their workforce cost-effectively, attract top talent, and drive down wages.
At this point, WFH is largely a tool for managing labor costs. Many workers will leave a job over an RTO mandate, swearing off office work for good, only to find that the market is flooded with people making the same choice. If they’re lucky, they’ll find a new WFH job, but often it comes with less pay or stability—just delaying the next inevitable RTO push. Sure, some find a better fit, but for most, this cycle of WFH, RTO, pay cuts, and re-shuffled roles is only going to intensify.
The underlying issue here is intense competition for WFH roles. Many workers overestimate their irreplaceability, yet most can be easily swapped out. More often than not, these replacements are higher-skilled individuals willing to accept lower pay. There’s no shortage of people vying for remote roles. And notably, in the article, the complaints about losing “high-skill employees” come from the employees themselves—not the companies.
The underlying issue is really just that these companies are banking on desperate workers always being available, and that productive workers will continue to expand the company’s capabilities. And that is not the case, in the long run.
Within the next 1-2 years we will see the pendulum swing back as more Boomers exit the workforce, and more young workers find their apathetic reactions to Corporate behavior normalized.
In other words, Management makes these decisions because they, themselves, usually have plans to move on to the next parasitic host within 1-2 years, leaving behind the mess of their decisions.
Perhaps. Good to remember that the Boomers aren’t the largest generation. Millennials are. And Gen Z is only slightly smaller. There’s a workforce-entry delay usually related to training/education, but workforce participation is likely to go up. You’re assuming that position growth will continue to pace workforce entry. But, as I noted, many companies are finding ways to decrease their workforce and maintain productivity levels. And they’re doing it successfully, so I don’t know if there will magically be less desperate workers in two years.
You’re correct if you’re talking about skilled trades and medicine. Those are and will continue to be high-demand jobs. But that’s largely because young people typically choose not to learn a trade. Most college students think they’re going to/want to work in: tech and data science, business and management, environmental, and media and creative. Just like everyone else. There’s not going to be a sudden dearth of workers in those fields. If anything, it seems likely to become more competitive.
Were I you, I wouldn’t be so confident that things are going to just happen to work out in precisely the way you’d like. But, I’m not, so carry on – and good luck.
Yes for sure. Be prepared for a “no,” or even to have the offer withdrawn if competition is particularly robust, but getting as much as you can into pre-hire contract language is absolutely a good idea.
Many people are willing to accept lower pay for a remote role, making it a highly effective tool for companies to leverage against workers.
Interesting way to look at things. You could then look at it like this: Allowing people to work from home was essentially a raise. And now they are rescinding it.
Sure, you can frame it however you want, but the reality is that companies are using people’s attachment to WFH as a tool to cut costs and churn out employees more cheaply. By pushing return-to-office mandates, they’re nudging people to leave without having to call it a pay cut or layoff—it’s a workaround that makes it easier for them to replace folks with new hires who’ll take the conditions they’re setting.
Whether you want to call it a “rescinded raise” or not doesn’t change the fact that this tactic is all about control and cutting down labor costs. And unlike an actual rescinded raise, there aren’t as many laws and rules about notification, etc. So it’s fine to think of it that way as long as you don’t convince yourself RTO has the same provisions required of a pay cut, which is why it’s being used in the ways I described previously.
My friend works as a corporate “efficiency expert,” and yes, we joke about Office Space with him all the time. According to him, one of the latest tools for cutting labor costs is the inflated perception of WFH positions. Many people are willing to accept lower pay for a remote role, making it a highly effective tool for companies to leverage against workers. The strategy described in the article is precisely what he and others are advising corporate clients to use. As a result, you’ll likely see more companies adopt this approach in workplaces that mix WFH and RTO policies.
This explains why RTO mandates are becoming more common. The increased push for RTO makes fully remote jobs rarer, which in turn heightens competition for these positions. RTO also serves as a cheap and easy tactic for downsizing—companies can issue an RTO mandate, see a voluntary exodus, and then re-advertise those same roles as remote positions with reduced pay. Often, they hire fewer people overall. With such fierce demand for WFH, businesses can reduce their workforce cost-effectively, attract top talent, and drive down wages.
At this point, WFH is largely a tool for managing labor costs. Many workers will leave a job over an RTO mandate, swearing off office work for good, only to find that the market is flooded with people making the same choice. If they’re lucky, they’ll find a new WFH job, but often it comes with less pay or stability—just delaying the next inevitable RTO push. Sure, some find a better fit, but for most, this cycle of WFH, RTO, pay cuts, and re-shuffled roles is only going to intensify.
The underlying issue here is intense competition for WFH roles. Many workers overestimate their irreplaceability, yet most can be easily swapped out. More often than not, these replacements are higher-skilled individuals willing to accept lower pay. There’s no shortage of people vying for remote roles. And notably, in the article, the complaints about losing “high-skill employees” come from the employees themselves—not the companies.
This type of policy has absolutely created the quiet quitters generation lol.
Not smart medium-long term strategy.
Yeah but look how much we reduced costs this quarter!
The underlying issue is really just that these companies are banking on desperate workers always being available, and that productive workers will continue to expand the company’s capabilities. And that is not the case, in the long run.
Within the next 1-2 years we will see the pendulum swing back as more Boomers exit the workforce, and more young workers find their apathetic reactions to Corporate behavior normalized.
In other words, Management makes these decisions because they, themselves, usually have plans to move on to the next parasitic host within 1-2 years, leaving behind the mess of their decisions.
Perhaps. Good to remember that the Boomers aren’t the largest generation. Millennials are. And Gen Z is only slightly smaller. There’s a workforce-entry delay usually related to training/education, but workforce participation is likely to go up. You’re assuming that position growth will continue to pace workforce entry. But, as I noted, many companies are finding ways to decrease their workforce and maintain productivity levels. And they’re doing it successfully, so I don’t know if there will magically be less desperate workers in two years.
You’re correct if you’re talking about skilled trades and medicine. Those are and will continue to be high-demand jobs. But that’s largely because young people typically choose not to learn a trade. Most college students think they’re going to/want to work in: tech and data science, business and management, environmental, and media and creative. Just like everyone else. There’s not going to be a sudden dearth of workers in those fields. If anything, it seems likely to become more competitive.
Were I you, I wouldn’t be so confident that things are going to just happen to work out in precisely the way you’d like. But, I’m not, so carry on – and good luck.
Time to negotiate a high severance in your job offer if they change their minds and make you return to office or quit.
Yes for sure. Be prepared for a “no,” or even to have the offer withdrawn if competition is particularly robust, but getting as much as you can into pre-hire contract language is absolutely a good idea.
Interesting way to look at things. You could then look at it like this: Allowing people to work from home was essentially a raise. And now they are rescinding it.
Sure, you can frame it however you want, but the reality is that companies are using people’s attachment to WFH as a tool to cut costs and churn out employees more cheaply. By pushing return-to-office mandates, they’re nudging people to leave without having to call it a pay cut or layoff—it’s a workaround that makes it easier for them to replace folks with new hires who’ll take the conditions they’re setting.
Whether you want to call it a “rescinded raise” or not doesn’t change the fact that this tactic is all about control and cutting down labor costs. And unlike an actual rescinded raise, there aren’t as many laws and rules about notification, etc. So it’s fine to think of it that way as long as you don’t convince yourself RTO has the same provisions required of a pay cut, which is why it’s being used in the ways I described previously.