Research from the University of Pittsburgh indicates that return-to-office mandates can lead to the loss of high-performing employees, particularly women and senior staff, as they seek more flexible work options. This trend poses challenges for companies like Amazon and Walmart, which have implemented such policies, as they face increased turnover and difficulty in filling vacancies. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce workforce costs through RTO mandates, as proposed by figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, may backfire by driving away experienced talent and increasing hiring costs.
Boeing and its suppliers have experienced a significant turnover of experienced workers, leading to a decline in quality control and a series of manufacturing issues, including the recent midair blowout of a panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX. The turnover, accelerated by the Covid pandemic, has resulted in a younger, less experienced workforce facing challenges in mastering complex assembly tasks. Experts believe that inadequate training for new workers and reliance on experienced employees for overtime fixes have contributed to the quality problems. The Federal Aviation Administration has increased oversight, and Boeing is working to address the issues, but it may take years to fully resolve the production process challenges.
Blizzard employees are concerned that the company's mandatory return-to-office policy in July will lead to more departures and hurt games like World of Warcraft. Some employees have already left due to the policy, and a hiring freeze has made it difficult to backfill positions. The turnover could potentially impact post-release content plans for games like Diablo IV. Activision Blizzard has promised remote work exceptions for some employees, but the process for requesting them is opaque. Meanwhile, recent high-level hires responsible for selling employees on the policy have full-time remote status.
