Office language in the US is usually very polite. Definitely relaxed, but significantly less direct and much friendlier than in Germany, for example. So it’s very noticeable when a company boss avoids the usual platitudes. In his message to all employees this week, David Baszucki started with the first sentence: “Today we will be asking some of our remote employees to work from our headquarters in San Mateo starting next summer and to eliminate remote work at Roblox. “
Roblox, an online gaming platform from California, has adopted a new RTO rule, as Americans call it: Return To Office. The company is not the only one that now regrets its former flexibility. In the American tech industry in particular, a number of companies have recently tightened their rules because they fear a drop in their people’s productivity or creativity.
Although there are still exceptions such as Airbnb, Adobe or Lyft, which continue to let their employees work from the location of their choice, Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta and even the video conferencing provider Zoom now require their employees to do so at least from time to time to see in person. So now Roblox too.
In the last few months we have seen how great it is to work together in the same room more often. “For many of us, ‘Zoom fatigue’ is a real thing,” writes Baszucki. “A three-hour meeting is less stressful in person than over video. And brainstorming sessions flow better and are more creative.” He believes that the technology for virtual meetings is getting better and better, but unfortunately it’s not there yet. Starting next year, everyone will work together in the office from Tuesday to Thursday.
One problem: Many employees no longer live near the office
For many employees, however, the recalls mean great inconvenience. For them, it’s not so much about having to take off their sweatpants and dress appropriately for the office, but rather about getting to the office. During the pandemic, when working from home suddenly became the norm, many people moved away from large cities and office centers like Silicon Valley and now live in places where rents and real estate prices are cheaper. But now they can’t just come to the office that easily.
Many tech companies not only tolerated this, but even advertised it. In times of skilled labor shortages, generous WFH rules were a differentiator between different employers, which was more important to many applicants than a high salary (Americans love their abbreviations, instead of home office they say WFH, short for Work From Home). The corporations hired people who didn’t live near their offices – which significantly increased the pool of possible applicants.
“We did not make this decision lightly because we know that a move is of great importance for our employees as well as for their families and relatives,” writes Roblox boss Baszucki. “Unfortunately, I know that some employees will decide not to come to our headquarters.” More than 2,000 people work for the company. Everyone has to decide by mid-January whether they want to move. The company wants to help with moving costs. Anyone who doesn’t go along and doesn’t have any irreplaceable qualifications will be laid off from April – with a severance package.
Companies expect better work, but they also take a risk if they force their employees back to the office – because they are likely to lose a lot of people. According to a survey by market researcher Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse, around every second employee in the financial industry would change or has already changed their job if office attendance requirements become stricter.