cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10481867

Billionaire CEOs were quick to sing the praises of working from home at the start of the pandemic, calling it the way of the future — but over the last three years, they’ve slowly changed their tune.

Late last year, Forbes reported that 90% of companies will return to the office in 2024, with 28% threatening to fire workers who don’t comply.

But it turns out that the motivations for calling workers back to the office may have less to do with employee productivity or profit margins and everything to do with catering to the egos of controlling managers who want their workers back, according to a recent study published by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mark Ma, an associate professor of business administration from Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business, who led the study, told BI he started the research hoping to understand why some S&P 500 firms want employees to return to the office while other firms avoid calling them back.

“One of the most common arguments management suggests is that they want to return to office because employee productivity is low at home, and they believe returns to office would help firms improve performance and ultimately improve the firm’s value,” Ma told BI. “That’s the reason they give — but our results actually do not support these arguments.”

  • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    It’s a picture of an open office floor from 15 years ago based on the monitors, clothing, and magazine

    • danielbln@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Sheesh, I sat in an open plan office in 2008, and we had ergonomic chairs and wide desks and widescreen monitors even then. IT privilege, I suppose.