Employment trends expert talks about getting employees back in the office and dealing with COVID exposures
Elon Musk made a big announcement on Tuesday: He ordered all of his executive staff to spend at least 40 hours in the office every week, or risk losing their positions. “This is less than we ask of factory workers,” said Musk, in the employee memo which was leaked to the press.
Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert, says that Elon Musk’s message is aligned with what he is hearing from his clients across the country.
“Employers want their staff back at work,” says Wilson. “Despite the fact that many employees are happy being hybrid or even fully remote, many companies want to get their productivity back on track after a rough couple of years. And since culture-leaders like Musk and other tech giants like Microsoft are pushing employees back to the office, I think this will set a precedent that smaller firms will also follow.”
Wilson says that he has found many people who say that their employees are resistant to come back to the office, with some even milking potential COVID exposure to keep them at home.
“We’re hearing from clients that they have employees who continually pull the ‘COVID card,’ and say they have a potential exposure and need to stay home and quarantine,” says Wilson. “While we all want to practice an abundance of caution around the pandemic, which is not over yet, employers are going to have to re-examine their COVID policies and how they want to mitigate COVID risk.”
Wilson says that some companies are shifting to a policy in which only a positive test will keep a worker home.
“We are moving away from the ‘Oh, I spent time with someone who later tested positive,’ and into a stage where employers are going to have to just keep COVID tests on hand and ask employees to have a positive test before they stay home,” says Wilson. “While no one wants to have any illness spread in the office, the fact that so many employees do not want to work in-person means that there will be some people who try to lie or exaggerate their symptoms to be able to stay virtual.”
Wilson says the best thing employers can do is sit down and re-examine their employee handbooks and rework their COVID policies to match their county’s risk and CDC guidelines.
“You can be cautious while still explaining to employees that you want them in-office,” says Wilson. “But beware: With talent in such high demand and so many places seeking staff, you’re going to find that top performing employees have options…and they may opt to work at a place that allows them to work from home, at least part time.”
For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.