Another company is potentially changing its tune on remote work, as accounting giant Deloitte is purchasing new buildings in London after ditching office space in 2021.
The work-from-home boom of the pandemic is very much waning, with return-to-office mandates hitting companies across the country. Despite the lack of remote work statistics to back up the decision, businesses are dropping the hammer on employees that won’t commute.
Now, one of the biggest companies in the world is adding office space. Not – it says – to force employees back in the office, but because attendance is rising all on its own.
Deloitte Invests Big on Office Space
Deloitte has made a big investment when it comes to new office space in London, reportedly purchasing a 70,000 square feet expansion that consists of several floors in an office building near its New Street Square headquarters.
This decision to purchase new office space by Deloitte is a massive departure from its previous strategy. Between 2020 and 2022, the Big Four accounting firm has closed a lot of offices, encouraging employees to work from home forever.
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Most recently, Deloitte left offices already in New Square in 2022, which are quite near to where the new offices will be set up – a potential indication of more shortsighted decision-making from businesses that are toying with people’s lives.
Deloitte Done With Remote Work?
You might assume from this news that Deloitte is ramping up for a substantial return-to-office mandate that would see employees forced from their flexible schedules into a daily commute once more. However, Deloitte hasn’t been so bold, and instead has made the office an attractive option for employees to return to.
“As leaders create policies around returning to a physical office, they should consider both the work that needs to be done as well as worker preferences. And before organizations can consider where the work should be done, they must first understand what that work is and what that work requires. Only then can they design the most suitable workplace model.” – Art Mazor, Global Human Capital Practice Leader at Deloitte in a report
In other words, Deloitte’s decision to purchase more office space was driven by its employees, since attendance has gone up from hybrid workers coming in more often on their own.
How to Get Employees in the Office
There are lots of remote jobs still on the market, some at big firms like Google and Microsoft. Still, if you’re itching to find a way to get your employees back in the office, you can’t force them; you have to make the office a place they actually want to go.
Deloitte, as you may or may not know, is the king of employee perks and benefits. From free lunches to in-office massages, the company prides itself on making sure its employees are taken care of and then some.
Granted, you don’t have to go all out, but you need to address employee concerns about commuting and working in the office. A recent study found that the cost of commuting and the lack of a productive environment in the office are the leading cause of hybrid workers not coming into the office. So, if you’re looking for a way to get employees back in the office, that’s a good place to start.
