Big Tech companies push for return to office, but workers are pushing back

The news: Big Tech companies like Amazon and Apple are pushing for employees to return to offices despite some workers’ desire for hybrid or remote-work arrangements.

Threading the needle in the future of work: Some companies, like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, are requiring employees to come back to the office a few days a week. Others, like Meta, are allowing employees to work remotely full time. 

And still others, like Amazon, are somewhere in between.

• Amazon, the US’ second-largest employer with 950,000 employees, is facing monthslong delays in its return-to-office initiatives because its office spaces are far from being ready to accept the influx of workers, per Insider.
• Some of its offices won't be ready until September, despite recent mandates asking employees back by May.

Office presence vs. productivity: Apple is under fire for threatening to discipline employees who do not come into office at least three days a week, per Insider.

• Apple is enforcing its return-to-office policies by tracking badge records to ensure in-person attendance three times a week.
• It issued a company-wide survey on office attendance and culture weeks after it threatened to start giving staff escalating warnings for not going into the office. 
• Respondents to Apple’s survey complained of reduced efficiency due to long commutes and frequent in-office distractions.

By the numbers: Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics (GWA) surveyed 2,050 full-time US workers between the ages of 21 and 65 at companies with 10 or more employees and a 50/50 gender split.

• They found that remote and hybrid employees were 22% happier than workers in an on-site office environment and stayed in their jobs longer.  
• The survey found that working from home led to improved work-life balance and was more beneficial for the physical and mental well-being of employees.
• A study from Ergotron sampled 1,000 full-time workers and found that 56% of employees cited mental health improvements, better work-life balance, and more physical activity from remote and hybrid work.

Our take: While Big Tech companies led the transition to remote work during the early days of the pandemic, they may not be the best models to emulate for enticing employees to return to  offices.