GoKawiil
Tech News
Years of remote work loosened office dress norms, and as companies enforce return-to-office policies, employees at all levels—including executives—report uncertainty about appropriate workplace attire. Many organizations pushed workers back to physical offices without updating or clarifying dress expectations.
Skydance, the studio created by the recently closed $111 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, has told employees they must return to the office five days a week. The company is also offering voluntary buyout packages to certain staff.
Research cited shows 38% of employees went through multiple RTO policy changes in 2024, with 6% experiencing more than five. One large retail company first required three in-office days, fell short, then mandated four days to force compliance toward three — a tactic that ultimately achieved the target attendance level.
Design firm Gensler found that about two-thirds of office workers are making unauthorized adjustments to their workspaces, addressing problems with ergonomics, temperature, privacy and storage. The findings come as companies continue pushing return-to-office mandates.
Resume.io's study estimates American employees spend an average of $6,736 per year on costs tied to commuting and in-office attendance. The research found this so-called 'RTO tax' is proportionally lowest in expensive cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco once local salaries are factored in.
Safeguard Global, an Austin-based workforce management firm, tested a four-day workweek in 2023 aiming to boost recruitment and retention. The company ended the pilot after discovering that many employees were secretly continuing to work on their supposed day off, undermining the program's intent.
A satirical piece published under the title 'We Must Return to the Office to Use AI in Person' imagines a dystopian company, Mondo Mayo, that forces employees back into the office under absurd 'Core Principles' and constant AI surveillance tools like 'Best Buddy' and 'SlurryHose.' The narrator, an 'Associate Slop Doula,' recounts mandatory retreats, an overabundance of leadership titles, and a rented robotic 'Mondo Machine' that parents family life remotely, all framed as justification for RTO policies.