A cooling job market is leading to more than a slowdown in hiring, a pickup in layoffs and growing recession fears.
It appears to be the one force capable of prodding America’s workers out of their homes and back to offices.
The slowing labor market is starting to shift some bargaining power from employees to employers, allowing a growing number of companies to require workers to return to the office at least a few days a week, staffing officials and consultants say. Many businesses are still struggling to find workers and so the change is in its early stages, but it’s expected to accelerate as hiring pulls back further and layoffs spread in the months ahead, experts say.
“Companies are a little less concerned that they’re not going to fill jobs if they lose people because of return-to-work policies,” says Jim McCoy, senior vice president of talent solutions for ManpowerGroup, a leading staffing firm. “There’s starting to be less competition for talent, and employers can be a little more selective.”
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In late September, 36% of organizations required workers to be in the office at least three days a week, up from 25% in August, according to a Gartner survey of 240 human resources leaders. And just 22% had no onsite work requirements, down from 31%.
