As organizations navigate the shifting dynamics of the post-pandemic workplace, some have controversially used return-to-office mandates as a strategy to induce voluntary turnover.

Recent surveys reveal that this approach has led to unintended and significant consequences, including higher-than-expected attrition rates and a disproportionate loss of women and underrepresented employees.

Bamboo HR's findings show that about one-quarter of vice presidents and C-suite executives implemented return-to-office policies in hopes of prompting voluntary resignations. Similarly, around 20 percent of HR professionals indicated that their in-office policies were designed to make workers quit.

Bamboo HR's report suggests that these mandates are essentially "layoffs in disguise," aiming to reduce headcount without the costs associated with formal layoffs.

Potentially aligning with this controversial strategy, House Republicans have recently intensified the push against telework for federal employees. For example, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) have been pushing legislation to limit federal telework while pressing federal agencies for detailed data on their telework practices.

Comer recently accused the Biden administration of allowing telework for federal employees to secure their votes, saying that “Biden’s main objective with the federal workforce, in my opinion, is to keep them happy at all costs so they’ll go vote for him.” This aligns with the findings by Bamboo HR, suggesting a broader motive to shrink the federal workforce as part of a larger effort to reduce bureaucracy and the so-called........

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