“You might expect something different, where younger or more junior employees have matured in or started their first jobs in a remote environment,” he said. “But we didn’t find anything like that.”
The study also found a tight correlation between the rigor of a specific return-to-office policy and its effects on workers, Van Dijcke said. Apple’s one day per week policy produced the smallest changes to its workforce, causing about a 4% decrease in senior employees as a share of the overall pool. SpaceX’s full-time in-house requirement, by contrast, led to a larger than 15% decrease.
Van Dijcke, who is also employed at the risk analytics division of Ipsos Public Affairs, said that there were several possible reasons more senior tech workers might leave. Another study, he noted, tracked two offices of the same company, located mere blocks apart, and found that employees there got different benefits from working remotely and working in-office.
“They found that senior software engineers were more productive when they were not close to their co-workers, which I guess makes sense, right?” he said. “They’re skilled at what they do and benefit from fewer distractions. Whereas if you’re more junior you might benefit from distractions that give you valuable feedback.”Recent surveys have tracked closely with Van Dijcke and his colleagues’ findings, including data published today by Gartner finding that one in three executives would quit over a return-to-office mandate, compared to less than 20% of non-executive workers.
Nevertheless, Gartner said that in-office requirements are getting more strict across the technology sector. Dell, for instance, has begun to issue employees color-coded “grades” based on their attendance.
