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Return-to-Office Policies: Companies Struggle to Define Productivity and Attendance Metrics

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RETURN-TO-OFFICE,EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY,TRACKING SYSTEMS

As companies push for employee return to the office, they face challenges in defining clear productivity and attendance metrics. Some companies utilize tracking systems, but the connection between in-office time and performance remains unclear. Starbucks, for example, requires employees to be in the office four days a week with flexibility, while Grab and Amazon have mandated a five-day work week.

When companies do not have clearly defined metrics to measure employee productivity, supervisors can apply their own heuristics on what it looks like.

SINGAPORE - Are companies using tracking systems to keep tabs on how much time employees spend in the office? Is in-office attendance tied to one’s work performance? Can employees get into trouble for refusing to return to the office? The answers to these questions still appear muddy against the backdrop of companies trying to nudge employees to return to the office, citing better collaboration and connection with colleagues compared with working remotely. It appears that companies are trying to redefine their policies and processes, said Ms Cheng Wan Hua, head of talent analytics at professional services firm Aon in South-east Asia. “Naturally, it takes time to work out what works and what doesn’t. It’s also not that easy to transplant what worked in one organisation into another,” she said. Two employees who work at a US big tech firm in Singapore said that while the company has a badge tracking system, they are uncertain about “how much of it is tied to (work) performance”. “There is no clear signal about it,” said one of the employees, who spoke to The Straits Times on condition of anonymity. In the past two months, Grab and Amazon announced that employees have to return to the office five days a week. Starbucks too has reportedlyWhen asked, a Starbucks spokesperson said its Singapore office has a different policy as it is a licensed market. Corporate employees in Singapore are required to go into the office four days a week, with the option to work from home on Wednesday or Friday. Employees also have flexible hours. Enforcing return-to-office rules strictly may be a challenging concept to grasp. Starbucks corporate employees in Singapore are required to go to the office four days a wee

 

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