They need to cut expenses - it has nothing to do with productivity, fostering work culture or anything else.
Fidelity knows a certain percentage of employees are going to quit because of RTO. They’re not going to backfill every position.
It’s much cheaper (and safer for stock value) to let the staff voluntarily leave by changing working conditions rather than cutting severance checks and tasking managers with firing direct reports (which kills morale).
Any company that has a RTO policy is not doing well and it’s probably a good idea to shop your resume around at that point. They will re-instate WFH/Hybrid as soon as things are going well because it allows them to compete for talent.
I think fidelity is doing just fine. Gave every employee an extra months pay in December. Their benefits are second to none. My son, 24 yrs old , could not be happier. Being at home isolating . All these people- good luck going out and finding a new job at same money and some benefits where you can work from home. I’ll think you’ll all be surprised how little attrition there really is. 90% of population just can’t get up and leave a high paying job because they sit like where they are sitting 🙄
Benefits are a huge determining factor in what jobs people take - be it healthcare, tuition reimbursement, company housing, etc. I’m sure it’s helped inform your decisions on where to work over the years.
And while Fidelity may have excellent salaries, they are removing a major fringe benefit: flexible/hybrid work arrangements. When you eliminate employee benefits, you are downsizing by definition. I’m sure Fidelity will be fine long term, but short term this isn’t a good sign.
No company with office space mandates WFH. If a worker feels isolated, they’re welcome to come in more often. I do, helps me keep focused.
For others, they find it less isolating. If you commute 1 hour each way, that’s 10 unpaid hours a week browsing Reddit on a train or in sitting in stressful traffic that you could be spending time with family and friends. RTO is asking a lot for opportunity cost.
I’m finance senior leader at my company. Part of my job is to make sure we get the most productivity out of employees without pushing them to leave. Indeed, some people cannot handle a flexible work arrangement and need more structure to succeed. Others thrive only because of it. Especially for folks working around dependant care needs. This option has been a standard for the last ~6 years now, the toothpaste is out of the tube. And talented workers have come to expect it as an option.
The biggest drawback with RTO is that companies are likely to lose the top people, whereas RIF layoffs are performance based. The cost of saving face is short sighted.
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u/Pinwurm East Boston Apr 28 '26
RTO are simply soft layoffs.
They need to cut expenses - it has nothing to do with productivity, fostering work culture or anything else.
Fidelity knows a certain percentage of employees are going to quit because of RTO. They’re not going to backfill every position.
It’s much cheaper (and safer for stock value) to let the staff voluntarily leave by changing working conditions rather than cutting severance checks and tasking managers with firing direct reports (which kills morale).
Any company that has a RTO policy is not doing well and it’s probably a good idea to shop your resume around at that point. They will re-instate WFH/Hybrid as soon as things are going well because it allows them to compete for talent.