So, now that we’re 2 weeks in to 2025, who has returned to the office full time? Amazon? Anyone? Beuller?
We (TRANSCEND LV) visited a very cool space today, in which the IT staff is preparing for “full RTO”. They’re updating conference rooms from old tech to new, updating WiFi access points, and otherwise preparing for hundreds of employees to return to working from the office.
They’ve done happy hours, regular office get-togethers, RTO bonuses, and totally upgrading the “office experience”.
But nobody is RTO-ing. Ruh roh, Raggy.
Why do you think that is? Why, other than “I don’t want to”, are employees resistant to RTO?
I’ve read a lot about WFH vs. RTO, and one thing that hasn’t been talked about much, if at all, is this:
They moved.
Yeah, they moved. The employees saw WFH as an upgrade for their own lifestyle and as a cost cutting and employee attraction/retention tool for employers.
They bet that WFH was not going away. Ever.
And they moved.
To the beach. To the mountains. To the country. To a farm. To someplace they always wanted to live. To a much lower cost of living destination.
You name it. They moved.
They’re not going to RTO not so much because they don’t want to (they don’t), but more so because it’s now a 17-hour commute.
With that in mind, we’re kind of getting close to a crossroads, where the rubber will meet the road for mandatory RTO employers and employees who have enough value to tell those RTO employers to kick rocks.
Who wins? Well, I say everyone does. The free market in this scenario means WFH people can look literally all over the world for employment, with several years of WFH production to bank on.
And RTO employers can refresh their view of the local workforce, while making “special exemptions” for those REALLY key employees that will WFH forevermore.
Do you know anyone who moved when WFH became really cool?
Unrelated: I think this wall mural is cool. It’s in an office. Not at your home.
“Full RTO!”
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