Compulsory attendance: Why this is not a good idea for companies, according to Analyze

A few weeks ago, tech giant Amazon announced that its employees would have to be in the office again five days a week from January 2025. It is the first company to reintroduce a mandatory presence requirement and move away from remote and hybrid solutions.

But other companies also want to at least see their employees at work. A large survey by Business Insider of 43 top companies shows that 26 of them have fixed rules for returning to the office – be it, for example, 3 days a week or at least 4 days a month. Another 15 companies let their managers decide how many days their team members can work from home.

On the occasion of Amazon’s announcement, the question now arises for companies and employees: Will other employers soon follow suit and require their employees to come to the office every day again?

Companies lose employees when they offer less flexibility

A new analysis by the HR platform Remote in collaboration with Consensuswide, which was exclusively available to Business Insider, shows that employees may not be doing themselves any favors if they are required to be present. More than 4,000 managers from ten countries were surveyed for the “Remote Workforce Report 2024”, including 500 from Germany.

75 percent of HR managers said that in the past six months they had lost employees to companies that were less tied to fixed working hours and locations. At the same time, 87 percent reported an increased demand from employees for more flexibility.

Respondents also stated that they see two significant advantages of flexible working compared to compulsory attendance. 50 percent of respondents cited higher productivity as the most important benefit and 34 percent reported better business performance.

27 percent of companies that primarily work remotely also reported lower employee turnover and access to a larger talent pool.

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When asked how the possibility of remote work affects employees, half of HR managers answered that it could increase employee satisfaction. 47 percent also emphasize that working from home is crucial to ensuring employees have a better work-life balance.

Working from home also brings challenges

Although HR managers have already recognized that flexible working offers many advantages for both companies and employees, they are facing difficulties. 74 percent said that they had had to do with compliance with international labor laws in the past six months.

Managing international teams, increased costs associated with implementing global collaboration software, and assessing whether global talent fits into the team were also cited.

Bring employees back to the office? That’s what experts say

“We are still at the very beginning of creating the foundations for location-independent working – now we need to identify and overcome the challenges,” explained Job van der Voort. He is CEO and co-founder of Remote. Although there will always be challenges, the benefits for companies are greater.

The labor market expert and economist Annina Hering from Indeed is also critical of the development of the renewed compulsory attendance. “Our data shows that the demand for jobs with a home office option in Germany remains high and only recently reached its peak, in July of this year,” she says.

It is therefore risky for companies to restrict flexibility. Given the shortage of skilled workers, this would significantly reduce their pool of potential workers. “Office workers who are looking for a job with a home office option will definitely find what they are looking for at the moment,” explains the economist.