As more workers return to the office, managers are facing some pushback on their RTO policies
As the number of workers returning to the office increases, managers are facing some pushback on their return-to-office (RTO) policies.
An online survey developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm shows that 28 per cent of workers say their greatest concern with going back to the office is the commute. In fact, three in 10 workers (29 percent) want to reduce in-office time and, of those, 76 percent say saving time and money with less frequent commuting is the main reason why.
“The best way for an employer to know how challenging commuting is to their workforce is if team members tell them directly,” says Deborah Bottineau, managing director at Robert Half. “Commutes and their impact are different for everyone depending on their personal circumstances and transparent communication is extremely important for healthy workplace relationships. Professionals who have concerns with their company’s RTO/hybrid policies based on their commute should set up time with their direct manager to discuss their challenges and find a way to implement a schedule that works for them and meets their needs, while also aligning with their workplace’s requirements.”
Flexibility can help alleviate commuting woes
Bottineau says that companies taking monetary responsibility for employee commutes simply isn’t an option for most, but there are other ways to help alleviate commuting woes, primarily through flexibility.
“Ultimately, flexibility will look different for everyone, but flexibility within the workday can go a long way towards mitigating commuting challenges while still ensuring teams are together collaborating during core hours,” she says. “If your employee’s commute is eating up a large chunk of their day, consider implementing windowed work, or non-traditional in-office hours, into their schedule, where they can come in later and leave earlier. Consider seeing if they want to start work earlier in the day but commute in slightly later, spending core time with the team, and leaving earlier, to avoid excessively long commutes.
“If your city’s transit system has cheaper fares during non-rush hour times, encouraging commuting at off-peak hours can help mitigate the cost of commutes, while still ensuring teams are present together for part of the day. You can also discuss if working from the commuter train at non-rush hour times is viable, or leaving the office early to beat traffic but working from home slightly later that evening might work better.
“As a manager, it’s important to ensure that you are making time to truly listen to your teams’ concerns and work with them to find flexible options that can help them, while supporting the needs of the business and team as a whole.”
Disregard for workers’ issues can result in losing talent
Companies who disregard workers’ issues around RTO policies risk losing valued employees and facing difficulties attracting new top talent. “As workers’ priorities have shifted since the start of the pandemic, we know that flexibility is the most important perk/benefit workers value in their jobs and enforcing rigid timeframes as part of RTO policies will be a deal-breaker for certain people.”
Bottineau adds, “If employers are open to flexible and windowed work and hybrid policies that help mitigate the challenge of long or difficult commutes, they are much more likely to be successful in implementing effective RTO or hybrid work policies. This showing of trust and willingness to collaborate with employees also can help strengthen trust, workplace wellbeing, and ultimately worker satisfaction and retention.”
The Robert Half survey was conducted by an independent research firm. It includes responses from more than 760 workers 18 years of age or older in finance, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources at companies with 20 or more employees in Canada (conducted November 1-20, 2023).
