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As long as employers have mandated an RTO, many workers have resisted. Now, one company’s UK operation is taking a page out of Sting’s book to tell employees, “I’ll be watching you.”
Where in the world? The accounting firm will begin tracking the whereabouts of its UK employees starting Jan. 1, 2025, as the company tries to enforce its in-office attendance policy, CNN reported.
Employees were informed of the decision through an internal email, which noted they must be in the office or with clients 60% of the time (up from 40% currently), adding that the business operates better when they’re together.
Employees will have monthly access to data on their attendance and billable hours, among other things, to ensure the mandate is applied “fairly.” The company did not outline what will happen if employees do not comply with the new rules.
“We all benefit from the positive impact of a hybrid approach, but the previous guidance of at least two to three days a week was open to interpretation. This update aims to provide clarity around where and how we expect everyone to work,” the email said.
For now, the directive only applies to UK-based employees. “PwC US and PwC UK are two separate entities. This policy is strictly related to the UK and does not apply to PwC US,” a PwC US Spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Deloitte, another US-based consulting firm, is also monitoring the locations of its UK employees, according to the Telegraph. However, the company claims it’s just to cut down on employees secretly working abroad.
Satellite view. Employees have been trying to hold on to remote work, HR Brew has previously reported. Some have resorted to “coffee badging,” in which they go into the office but leave shortly after, or have simply ignored mandates. Some managers have taken a “hushed hybrid” approach with their direct reports, allowing them to ignore company-wide directives.
When workers have zigged, employers have tried to zag. Earlier this year, Dell started assigning employees colors based on how often they’re in the office and factoring attendance into performance reviews. Last fall, Amazon told employees that not working from the office at least three days a week could affect being promoted.
Opponents believe such policies could potentially erode retention and the employer-worker relationship. Ian Greenleigh, VP of brand and communications at IT platform 1E, told WorkLife that employers should try to understand why employees aren’t coming into the office before they start tracking their locations.
“When they [companies] don’t look at the negative externalities, and they don’t look at the full picture of data, they’re going to miss a lot of employee concerns and a lot of valid anxiety about the state of things like trust between employee and employer,” he said.
Correction 09/18/24: This piece has been updated to reflect that PwC is based in the UK, not the US.