Three papers analyzed 1200+ US Return to Office policies, all presented at the Stanford conference this week. Summary findings:
A) RTOs have no impact on future profits or stock returns
B) RTOs are more likely after poor historic profits and stock returns
C) RTOs are more likely in companies with older, male CEOs
D) RTOs are more likely for companies in large cities with cheap office space
E) RTOs lead to the exit of employees, particularly more tenured employees
F) RTOs lead to reductions in employee sentiment (e.g. on Glassdoor)
Collectively, they appear to be some mix of:
1) Driven by CEO personal views - CEO age and gender matter a lot
2) Policies to reverse/bury bad news - they happen after results turn bad
3) Headcount reductions/delayering - employees quit, particularly managers
A) RTOs have no impact on future profits or stock returns B) RTOs are more likely after poor historic profits and stock returns C) RTOs are more likely in companies with older, male CEOs D) RTOs are more likely for companies in large cities with cheap office space E) RTOs lead to the exit of employees, particularly more tenured employees F) RTOs lead to reductions in employee sentiment (e.g. on Glassdoor)
Collectively, they appear to be some mix of: 1) Driven by CEO personal views - CEO age and gender matter a lot 2) Policies to reverse/bury bad news - they happen after results turn bad 3) Headcount reductions/delayering - employees quit, particularly managers