Return-to-Office Mandates Drive Women Out, Exposing System Failures

Flexible work arrangements are crucial for employee retention and productivity, especially for women, caregivers, and lower-income workers. Recent studies show that rigid return-to-office policies disproportionately drive women from the workforce, causing productivity losses and hiring difficulties.

This article originally appeared in Fortune by Jane Thier.

The U.S. lags behind other G7 nations in female workforce participation, a longstanding issue exacerbated by inflexible work policies. Consequently, many women are turning to freelancing for greater career control.

Research consistently shows no correlation between in-office time and improved performance. High-performing companies often embrace flexibility and trust, focusing on work quality rather than location. Leaders are encouraged to adopt distributed work models and shift towards human-centric performance measures.

Trust is key: companies offering hybrid options report higher employee trust levels. To remain competitive and retain talent, especially women, businesses must prioritize flexibility, emphasizing creativity, innovation, and relationship-building over traditional office-centric metrics.

Head over to Fortune to read the entire article by Jane Thier.