Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc.

IN 2022 AND 2023, we heard a lot about the return-to-office push being made by many companies and CEOs who, fatigued with remote work, were hoping to see butts in seats at their offices. In fact, 62 per cent of CEOs surveyed last year felt that work would return to being fully in-person by the end of 2026.

But that was then; nowadays, CEOs are singing a completely different tune.

Only four per cent of CEOs worldwide say they are prioritizing bringing their workers back to the office, according to a survey from The Conference Board. “CEOs are perhaps conceding that they need to let this issue go,” said Conference Board’s Diana Scott in an interview with CNN.

Without nearly as much fanfare as had surrounded their push to bring workers back to the office, many companies have quietly abandoned it in favour of flexible models. In the tech sector, a recent Flex Index survey found that the number of companies with an ‘employee’s choice’ model jumped from 38 per cent last year to 56 per cent this year, with only 18 per cent actually dictating which days their workers need to be in the office.

CEOs have instead realized that the heavy RTO campaign waged over the last couple years was probably a mistake. KPMG (whose survey produced the finding that 62 per cent of CEOS felt we would be in-person by 2026) repeated their survey this year and found that just one-third of executives now expect a full return to office. It was a time-consuming, and ultimately futile, effort, some suggest.

“Many CEOs dedicated the last year to persuading their employees to shake off their pandemic-era habits, but their mandates were met with resistance,” writes Fortune’s Orianna Rosa Royle. “Perhaps more than they anticipated. Research has shown that 99 per cent of companies with RTO mandates have seen a drop in engagement…nearly half of companies with RTO mandates witnessed a higher level of employee attrition…and 29 percent of companies enforcing office returns are struggling with recruitment.”

Call it a victory, then, for the RTO holdouts, who seem to have made their point fairly convincingly. “People have voted with their feet that they value flexibility a lot more than snacks in the office,” said Dropbox CEO Drew Houston earlier this year. “I think that’s what a lot of CEOs misunderstand. They keep mashing the go-back-to-2019 button…I don’t see that coming back.” 

TRENDS

What is “hushed hybrid” and why are some managers okay with it?

The latest workplace trend is perhaps the most controversial yet, as managers openly defy RTO policies

IF COMPANY LEADERS are starting to soften on RTO, it’s likely in part because of another trend that has recently been sparking conversation around workplace practices: “hushed hybrid.”

“Hushed hybrid is the newest viral name for the shadow policy workplace trend, in which managers make their own rules, choosing not to enforce their company’s RTO policies to align with team preferences and retain talent,” writes Forbes contributor Bryan Robinson.

A worker with a hushed hybrid schedule might be, on paper, required to be in office three days a week ― but only shows up for one or two, with their manager’s tacit approval. Some managers might even go as far as misreporting their team’s attendance to cover their tracks.

At least one survey has found that hushed hybrid might represent a very widespread practice. “Stealth management [is] on the rise, with 70 per cent of managers having allowed team members to work from home despite an official return to office policy,” found a survey from OwlLabs, which looked specifically at UK companies. And it has broad support. “The majority of workers (87 per cent) agree that an unofficial and more flexible RTO policy bolsters team morale.”

Experts point out that hushed hybrid highlights the bind that a lot of middle managers have found themselves in, being tasked with implementing top-level mandates as well as encouraging bottom-up productivity. “Managers are prioritizing their team’s needs and partaking in the hushed hybrid trend to maintain morale, boost productivity and retain staff that are engaged and productive despite their work location,” said Luck Dookchitra, VP of people at Leapsome.

On the other hand, HR experts also see the potential for managers going off-script to have major drawbacks. “It could be viewed as this manager might like this person more than everybody else, so they’re allowing them to not be on-site,” said HR advisor Shelley Majors.

“Company policies exist for a reason,” added Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO of Flexa. “If staff unanimously oppose any reduction to their work-from-home days, employers should think again. Otherwise, they run the risk of hushed hybrid and company culture problems.”

WORKFORCE

Class acts

Despite a shaky economic climate and the advancement of AI, recent Canadian graduates remain optimistic about career prospects

IN PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS we’ve written about the crappy job market facing new grads this year, with hiring slowing this year as companies work through an uneasy economic climate. But despite the rougher odds of landing a job as they come out of school, new grads are, for the most part, still relatively sanguine about their work prospects.

“Seventy-eight per cent of graduates are confident in their future career prospects today, and 72 per cent rate their career prospect confidence as at least a seven out of 10,” reads a survey report from the CFA Institute. Those numbers, it notes, are “five points higher than in 2023.” The numbers held constant when looking only at Canada, where 72 per cent of respondents reported feeling confident about their career prospects.

It really depends on what field you are hoping to go into, though ― those heading into the finance sector are more confident than they were a year ago, while those heading into education, healthcare or the arts are feeling less confident.

“As graduates today seek professions that not only promise stability but also resonate with their desires to make a tangible difference, finance emerges as an industry of opportunity,” said Margaret Franklin, CEO of the CFA Institute.

In the story of entry-level hiring and the new-grad career market, AI has been cast as the big boogeyman. And while the survey found that it does worry new grads ― 48 per cent said they believe AI will make it harder to get a job ― most still think that AI tools will be a benefit to them in the long term: two-thirds said AI was either important or very important to their future success, while 51 per cent said that knowing how to use the tools would give them a leg up.

New grads seem to know that they won’t just be able to rely on their degrees, especially in a job market where AI skills will be a hot commodity ― 95 per cent of new grads say that consistently upskilling will be an important asset.

“Today’s graduates desire to attain real-world experience as they increasingly seek opportunities to differentiate themselves in a crowded job market,” said the CFA Institute’s senior director of university programs Peter Watkins. “Organizations that continue to invest in upskilling and career advancement opportunities for their employees will be attractive to the next generation, who are keen to grow professionally.”

CAREERS

Homeward bound?

European nations still lead the way, but Canada is now a top-ten destination for digital nomads

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