Interesting article in the WSJ about employees choosing to quit their jobs rather than go back to the office 5-days-a-week. I'd be interested to hear whether anyone has experienced this in reality? https://www.wsj.com/articles/forget-going-back-to-the-officepeople-are-just-quitting-instead-11623576602

I’ve worked with over 20 high-growth 50-2,000-person organizations in the past year-- All have been struggling with the decision to go “remote”, “hybrid”, “flexible”, and most importantly how that plays out operationally and culturally. Attrition is a real thing for many reasons right now: 1. Some of the relocations trigger significant tax implications for the business and therefor the the match of person in X state no longer fits within the company (for now). The onus on that point is for the employee to make a personal decision and i’ve seen it go three directions: (1) *stay in unsupported & leave company*; (2) move to supported state & stay (Including perhaps going back to original location that is on “the list”). 2. Some versions of “flexibility” are just lies. Organizations that have dictated days in the office for the company and then allowed the employees to “choose” work from anywhere on the others are missing the boat of what flexible, remote, hybrid work is all about. In these orgs, employees are quitting because they aren’t in the area anymore so *cannot not meet required “show face” day*s; they are also quitting because they realize that the overarching work philosophy no longer aligns with their own. 3. Employees are just moving on for reasons not necessarily tied to the organization, i.e. there are a TON of great job opportunities out there right now. Combine that with the year of the ability to think and reprioritize oneself, employees are just graduating to different opportunities & workplace cultures. 4. On the topic of stress/burnout. Yes, it is a REAL thing. Orgs that have invested (and will continue to invest) in true & comprehensive employee wellness programs have and will continue to retain employees. Orgs that do not invest in the mental & physical health of employees should; as rage quit, grief quit, social impact quit, retreating-behavior “quit”, burnout quit, and many, many more are happening.

Thanks so much for this @Emily Muhl, really interesting. On your point 2, what's the best way to get this right? How do you balance wanting employees to use the office (for collaboration and to maintain team culture) without setting "show face" days? Also, for the companies that you work with, I'd be really interested to hear how big a problem you think this is. ie is it <1% of the workforce that is considering quitting, 1-5% or even more than that?