In the ever-evolving return-to-office battle, many companies have pulled out all the stops to get their workers back at their desks. Some, like Google, have offered free concerts and pinball machines—alongside free food, of course. Others, like L’Oreal, have upped the ante considerably, offering personal concierges for every in-office worker who will take dogs to the vet and clothes to dry cleaners for just $5 an hour. And others still, like Amazon and Tesla, are taking a decidedly less forgiving approach: Threatening to withhold promotions and tracking badge swipes to those who don’t comply with in-person mandates.
In its new 2024 Workplace Trends report, Glassdoor uses a tongue-in-cheek metaphor to describe the difference between these two approaches: dangling carrots (the perks) or brandishing sticks (the penalties). The return-to-office push “started out with a focus on carrots, but evolved toward more sticks" over the course of this year as the labor market softened, the report's authors write.
