US CEOs Offer Incentives for Office Return

Reported in this Korn Ferry article a new survey by KPMG of 400 US CEOs reveals that 90% are willing to reward office-based employees with favourable assignments, raises, or promotions in an effort to encourage them to return to the office.

The approach follows a lack of success with threatening remote employees' career prospects.

Despite the persistence of a 50% office occupancy rate in the US, 62% of CEOs believe that pre-pandemic office-based jobs will return to being office-based within three years.

This shift in approach comes as research suggests working remotely is 10%-20% less productive than being in the office, particularly for certain corporate functions.

However, convincing employees of this has proven challenging, and leaders worry that their threats may lead to an exodus of remote workers.

I like adopting the philosophy of "want to come in" as opposed to "have to come in" as proposed by David Ellis but also surprised that it seems so many businesses are struggling to articulate the case for working in the office.

If you are grappling with this thorny issue we can help you communicate with your staff, understand their concerns and priorities and then engage effectively with them.