Latest news with #officeculture
Fast Company
6 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Work friends may motivate people to return to the office
Working from home allows for the flexibility and work-life balance that many modern employees require in order to feel content in their jobs. Therefore, being asked to return to the office can be a very tough sell. But a new report found one factor to be majorly motivating when it comes to in-office work. And, surprisingly, it doesn't have to do with benefits, pay, or even flexibility. It's having a work bestie. A newly released report from ezCater surveyed 1,000 U.S. employees who work in an office setting and remotely. It found that 80% of employees feel more engaged at work when they have friends at the office. According to experts, gabbing it up at the office isn't only good for mental health and longevity, but it's also good for cognitive function, meaning it's tougher for workers to mentally check out. 'Social activities cause us to use our brains more than almost any other activity,' Dr. Andrew Budson, a neurologist and chief of cognitive and behavioral neurology at VA Boston Healthcare System, says per Harvard Health. In recent years, the ability to work remotely has become the most desirable perk of a job, with some reports finding it to be even more important than income, despite the fact that it can be isolating. However, according to the report, remote work hampers employees' ability to build relationships. Only 43% of remote employees reported having close work friends, while 69% of office and hybrid workers did. With a loneliness epidemic in full bloom, more workers may now crave socialization. That's especially true for the youngest workers: 85% of Gen Z respondents said having a work bestie would make them more engaged. Gen Z also expects socialization to be ingrained in their workplace culture. More than half (56%) expect their company to help foster that socialization by creating a sense of community at work. Robert Kaskel, VP of people at ezCater, said in a press release that companies should pay attention to the need for socialization—especially when it comes to Gen Z. 'Employees with friends at work are considerably more engaged, so it's in companies' best interest to create an environment that fosters socialization.'
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks Wants Corporate Staff in the Office Four Days a Week
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said corporate employees must spend four days a week in the office beginning in October. The company will support those who voluntarily leave with one-time payments, Niccol wrote in a letter to employees. The CEO said reestablishing an "in-office culture" would help Starbucks more quickly execute a turnaround plan."Back to Starbucks" means back to the office, too. Starbucks' (SBUX) corporate employees must report to the office four days a week—instead of three—beginning in October, CEO Brian Niccol said Monday, making it the latest high-profile U.S. employer to move to bring people back to the office more frequently. Reestablishing Starbucks' "in-office culture" will help the company move quickly and creatively as it attempts a comeback, Niccol wrote in a letter to employees that was also published on the company's public web site. Starbucks will provide a one-time cash payment to support those who'd rather leave the company, Niccol added. 'We know we're asking a lot of every partner as we work to turn the business around. And we understand that the updated in-office culture may not work for everyone,' the letter said. 'If you decide you want to leave Starbucks for any reason, we respect that.' The company has also said that while individuals would not be asked to relocate, hiring for lateral moves and future roles would require the people be in Seattle or Toronto. The new policy comes five months after Starbucks said it would lay off 1,100 corporate workers as part of its turnaround campaign. The cafe chain shortly before the layoffs said its corporate headcount was 16,000. Niccol unveiled a plan to counter sluggish sales in September. His 'Back to Starbucks" campaign calls for serving customers within four minutes, and cultivating an inviting atmosphere for those looking to spend time in cafes. A new afternoon menu may also be in the works, Niccol said. Starbucks shares fell about 1.6% Monday, but have ticked up about 2.4% so far this year. Read Investopedia's live coverage of today's trading here. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks to mandate workers return to office 4 days/week as CEO Brian Niccol continues turnaround efforts
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is doubling down on his push to return staff to the office. On Monday, CEO Brian Niccol said in a note to staff that its support partners and people managers will be required to come to the office four days a week starting in late September. Starbucks is also broadening expectations for which workers need to relocate to its North American hubs in either Seattle or Toronto, and those workers now expected to be in-person in either location will have a year to make the move. The company said it will also offer buyouts to employees that don't plan to meet these expectations as part of this broader mandate. "We are reestablishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we're together," CEO Brian Niccol wrote. "We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster. Being in person also helps us build and strengthen our culture. As we work to turn the business around, all these things matter more than ever." In April, the company reported US same-store sales fell for the fifth-straight quarter to start 2025, a result Niccol called "disappointing." Starbucks' stock is up just 2% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500's nearly 7% gain. The company is navigating a major brand overhaul amid an environment in which consumer spending has been under pressure. Niccol joined the company last year in a high-profile move from Chipotle, where he'd served as CEO since 2018. Citi analyst Jon Tower of wrote in a recent note to clients that he's eager to hear more about "updates on timeline and potential costs related to remodels and progress on menu simplification," in the company's upcoming quarterly report. The company disclosed in a filing earlier this month top executives could earn up to $6 million in stock grants if it meets cost-cutting reduction goals. "We're driving significant change across the company while staying true to our core values," Niccol wrote Monday. "We know we're asking a lot of every partner as we work to turn the business around. And we understand that the updated in-office culture may not work for everyone." Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@ Click here for all of the latest retail stock news and events to better inform your investing strategy
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks to mandate workers return to office 4 days/week as CEO Brian Niccol continues turnaround efforts
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is doubling down on his push to return staff to the office. On Monday, CEO Brian Niccol said in a note to staff that its support partners and people managers will be required to come to the office four days a week starting in late September. Starbucks is also broadening expectations for which workers need to relocate to its North American hubs in either Seattle or Toronto, and those workers now expected to be in-person in either location will have a year to make the move. The company said it will also offer buyouts to employees that don't plan to meet these expectations as part of this broader mandate. "We are reestablishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we're together," CEO Brian Niccol wrote. "We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster. Being in person also helps us build and strengthen our culture. As we work to turn the business around, all these things matter more than ever." In April, the company reported US same-store sales fell for the fifth-straight quarter to start 2025, a result Niccol called "disappointing." Starbucks' stock is up just 2% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500's nearly 7% gain. The company is navigating a major brand overhaul amid an environment in which consumer spending has been under pressure. Niccol joined the company last year in a high-profile move from Chipotle, where he'd served as CEO since 2018. Citi analyst Jon Tower of wrote in a recent note to clients that he's eager to hear more about "updates on timeline and potential costs related to remodels and progress on menu simplification," in the company's upcoming quarterly report. The company disclosed in a filing earlier this month top executives could earn up to $6 million in stock grants if it meets cost-cutting reduction goals. "We're driving significant change across the company while staying true to our core values," Niccol wrote Monday. "We know we're asking a lot of every partner as we work to turn the business around. And we understand that the updated in-office culture may not work for everyone." Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@ Click here for all of the latest retail stock news and events to better inform your investing strategy
CTV News
14-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Work-from-home starting to look more remote as companies get stricter on office time
TORONTO — It's not just students who will be commuting more this September. After years of experimentation with hybrid work, an increasing number of companies are whittling down days at home to one, or none at all. The push comes amid rising economic uncertainty that's leaving workers with less leverage and companies under pressure to boost productivity. Even as some experts point to a lack of evidence that more days in the office is good for business, corporate leaders are increasingly convinced it is. 'There are lots of clients who are slowly but surely increasing the in-office requirement,' said Alex Gallacher, managing director of Engage HR. Big banks including RBC, Scotiabank and BMO have mandated at least four days in office starting in September, while Canaccord Genuity is reportedly moving to five, mirroring moves earlier this year by U.S. giants Amazon and JPMorgan to also go all-in on the office. More moves are likely on the way, with 83 per cent of Canadian CEOs saying they expect to move back to full-time in the office within three years, according to a 2024 KPMG survey, a big jump from the 55 per cent who thought so in 2023. Companies have been citing all sorts of benefits to being in the office such as easier collaboration and teamwork, mentorship opportunities and better communication, while Gallacher sees it especially driven by companies trying to get workers on the same page. 'What's really driving it is culture,' said Gallacher. 'This desire to have a culture that is more cohesive, and that effectively supports what the business is trying to do strategically.' For customer-oriented services like banks, working together in person can help emphasize the people-oriented business they're trying to achieve, he said. Banks have said the same themselves, with RBC noting it was moving to more days in-office because it's a 'relationship-driven bank' whose in-person, human connection is core to its culture. Scotiabank noted the collaboration, engagement and career development benefits, as well as a stronger culture and sense of belonging as part of its reasoning. But companywide policies are a fairly blunt way to try and achieve results when location policies actually demand more nuance and specificity, said Linda Duxbury, chancellor's professor of management at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business. 'The decision makers are just making decisions, like the banks, everybody comes back, or the Government of Canada, three days ... it seems like very arbitrary decisions as opposed to doing the hard work necessary.' While companies aim to boost results, it's quite difficult to measure productivity or how well a return-to-office mandate, or home time, is working, said Duxbury. 'They don't have good performance metrics to measure the productivity of a lot of their knowledge workers,' she said. 'So to make the business case why this person can work from home and this one not, it takes a lot of work.' Some researchers have aimed to quantify the effects, such as a research paper out last year from Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom that studied 1,600 workers at Chinese travel company It found employees who worked two days a week at home were just as productive and likely to be promoted as their fully office-based peers, while turnover among them fell by a third. But even as some data supports hybrid work, companies are making the move because they're convinced the experiment isn't working, said Duxbury. 'They're not just on a whim going, well, hey, I'm going to really make everybody who works for me mad by making people come back in for five days. There's something triggering it.' A sense of culture, of the spirit holding a firm together, has come up a lot in her research, though it can also come down to managers not being able to get in contact with employees too many times, she said. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon didn't hold back when pointing to unreliable employees as one reason the firm moved back to fully in-office. He complained in a February town hall that he could never get ahold of anyone on Fridays, in a recording that was posted by Barron's. He also invited those who didn't like the policy to quit, underlining how retention is becoming less a concern than it was during the peak labour-shortage years of the pandemic. But while it might require broad policies to manage the more than 300,000 employees at JPMorgan, smaller firms seem to be finding it easier to navigate. The KPMG survey, for example, found that only 20 per cent of leaders of small- and medium-sized firms expect to go in-office full time. A big contributor to that trend is also the fight to find and keep talented staff, said Gallacher, noting the push toward more days in office isn't happening as much outside big cities, especially for firms needing more specialized positions. 'If you were to try and go hire a claims manager in the insurance world in southwestern Ontario right now, it is literally like pulling teeth.' But as trends shift and employee leverage fades, Gallacher said it's important to get clarity from any potential employer about what their plans are in terms of office work. 'It's probably as important as salary as a question in terms of, you know, can you manage your life.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:RY; TSX;BNS; TSX:BMO) Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
