80% of telecommuters worry that if they refuse to return to the office, they are likely to be fired

According to a new survey by productivity software company OSlash, nearly 80% of telecommuters believe that employers may fire them if they refuse to return to the office.

Big names such as Apple have taken the lead in setting International Labour Day in the United States as a deadline for employees to return to the office at least three days a week. The move has led to a rift between employees and the company's leadership, and many ordinary employees are reluctant to lose the flexibility and autonomy they gained during the epidemic.

The situation of employees boycotting reinstatement is nothing new. This month, a social media post posted an employee's response to the company-wide reinstatement policy, with a simple "no".

Earlier, the New York Times offered employees a well-known brand lunch to welcome them back to the office, but the gesture did not work as more than 1200 people wanted to work from home and protested against the mandatory return policy. They also put pressure on the company to negotiate with the union on reinstatement.

OSlash found that higher pay, flexible working hours and free food are the most popular incentives to lure employees back to the office for employers who want to make reinstatement more attractive. In addition, 4/5 of employees are happy to accept a pay cut to continue to work from home, with the so-called "Generation Z" employees most willing to do so.

Employers surveyed said they were prepared to provide flexible working hours. 60 per cent of employers said they would offer different options for employees who did not want to return to the office. While 20 per cent of employers said they would continue to telecommute their employees if challenged, almost a similar proportion said they would fire employees who refused to return to the office, making it more dangerous to simply refuse to return to work.

At the same time, more than 10 per cent of employers admit that they may use "refusing to return to the office" as an excuse to fire employees without having to pay them severance pay. The survey found that more than 1/3 of employers believe that telecommuters are more likely to be fired than those who work onsite.