Work Reform

My friend works as a corporate "efficiency expert," and yes, we joke about Office Space with him all the time. According to him, one of the latest tools for cutting labor costs is the inflated perception of WFH positions. Many people are willing to accept lower pay for a remote role, making it a highly effective tool for companies to leverage against workers. The strategy described in the article is precisely what he and others are advising corporate clients to use. As a result, you’ll likely see more companies adopt this approach in workplaces that mix WFH and RTO policies.

This explains why RTO mandates are becoming more common. The increased push for RTO makes fully remote jobs rarer, which in turn heightens competition for these positions. RTO also serves as a cheap and easy tactic for downsizing—companies can issue an RTO mandate, see a voluntary exodus, and then re-advertise those same roles as remote positions with reduced pay. Often, they hire fewer people overall. With such fierce demand for WFH, businesses can reduce their workforce cost-effectively, attract top talent, and drive down wages.

At this point, WFH is largely a tool for managing labor costs. Many workers will leave a job over an RTO mandate, swearing off office work for good, only to find that the market is flooded with people making the same choice. If they’re lucky, they’ll find a new WFH job, but often it comes with less pay or stability—just delaying the next inevitable RTO push. Sure, some find a better fit, but for most, this cycle of WFH, RTO, pay cuts, and re-shuffled roles is only going to intensify.

The underlying issue here is intense competition for WFH roles. Many workers overestimate their irreplaceability, yet most can be easily swapped out. More often than not, these replacements are higher-skilled individuals willing to accept lower pay. There’s no shortage of people vying for remote roles. And notably, in the article, the complaints about losing “high-skill employees” come from the employees themselves—not the companies.