This inconvenient truth about the forced return to the office

The same trend is being observed all over the world. After strongly encouraging remote work, companies are tending to impose a return to the office for their employees. Amazon’s strategy presented this week is therefore only the latest example of a fundamental trend.

In France too, this strategy is popular. According to a survey conducted this year by Opinionway for Slack, 82% of employees have received instructions or encouragement to return to the workplace. This is an opportunity for us to question the reasons that are pushing these companies to make this choice and the consequences of these new organizations.

Why are companies backing down on teleworking?

Among the reasons executives cite for forcing employees back to work on-site, there are often concerns about productivity. These statements are often based more on feelings than on hard numbers or facts. Others also point to concerns about the company culture that would be undermined if employees don’t see each other in person.

Ideas refuted by a study

However, several studies indicate quite the opposite. Experts from the startup Scoop have thus sifted through data from the Flex Index, an analysis that compiles information such as a company’s remote work policies and its turnover between 2020 and 2022. No fewer than 554 companies listed on the stock exchange were thus taken into account.

The surprise is significant, as companies that allow their employees to freely choose their work location or that are fully remote have seen revenue growth of 21%. Conversely, those that require their teams to come to the office for certain days of the week have seen growth of only 5%.

It seems that this tolerance and this spirit of trust towards employees gives them wings. In any case, the surveillance and the desire to keep an eye on employees do not work.

The productivity of teleworkers in question

Moreover, another study conducted by the National Productivity Council in 2022 also reshuffles the cards. These 15 experts have in fact noted that teleworking, on the contrary, makes French employees more productive:

Unlike many previous crises which led to a slowdown in trend productivity, the acceleration in the use of teleworking linked to the health crisis could ultimately result in a lasting gain in productivity.

Analysts cited in particular the end of commuting, which allows the workday to be extended by an average of 50 minutes. To find out more, feel free to reread our dedicated article here.