The news regarding back-to-office mandates is all over the map. Some companies like Microsoft have backtracked on their reopening plans. Others, such as accounting giant PwC, are allowing employees to work remotely with no plans to have them return to the office at all. Employees are also exploring a range of options, with some claiming the right to work remotely as a disability accommodation. There has been increasing evidence of labor shortages in industries like food and hospitality, and we’ll soon see how workers react to a rule being developed by OSHA that would require employers to ensure vaccination among workforces of over one hundred employees or implement weekly testing for unvaccinated individuals.
So what should we make of all this?
First and foremost, don’t expect a uniform solution. Employers and employees are going to adopt a variety of approaches. In many cases, employers will want a return to the office more than employees will. But that doesn’t mean you’ll have to go along with whatever your employer wants.
Use this time to explore your options and test the market. Avoid relying too much on online postings or recruiters. Instead, reach out to other employers – preferably decision makers at those organizations – and start collecting information about your alternatives. That way, if you want to push back on your employer’s requirements for returning to the office, you won’t feel trapped. And if you want to return to the office more than your company does, you will already have identified some like-minded employers.
This is not the time to be sentimental and treat a job search as an act of disloyalty toward your current employer. We are in the midst of a huge workplace tug-of-war. Employers and policymakers are trying to figure out the path forward and the new rules of the road, and you should be too.
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