Strict return-to-work policies may be driving tech workers away

“You might expect something different, where younger or more junior employees have matured in or started their first jobs in a remote environment,” he said. “But we didn’t find anything like that.”

The study also found a tight correlation between the rigor of a specific return-to-office policy and its effects on workers, Van Dijcke said. Apple’s one day per week policy produced the smallest changes to its workforce, causing about a 4% decrease in senior employees as a share of the overall pool. SpaceX’s full-time in-house requirement, by contrast, led to a larger than 15% decrease.

Van Dijcke, who is also employed at the risk analytics division of Ipsos Public Affairs, said that there were several possible reasons more senior tech workers might leave. Another study, he noted, tracked two offices of the same company, located mere blocks apart, and found that employees there got different benefits from working remotely and working in-office.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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