Boss manipulates employees into returning to the office by tying up their bonuses

Despite clear research pointing to higher levels of employee satisfaction, satisfaction and increased productivitywork-from-home models have continued to decline post-pandemic, leaving many employees feeling unsupported and abused by their leadership.

One specific employee took to Reddit to argue a similar point, admitting that his boss is taking the “back to the office” mentality one step further by eliminating bonuses and company cars from employees who choose to work from home – even a few days a week. .

“The company policy is to be in office for at least two days a week, but if we do that, we only get 40% of the compensation and are not entitled to a car,” he says. wrote in his post. “To get a real car or our full compensation, we have to commit to being in the office five days a week.”

An employee revealed that his boss is increasing company bonuses by 20% for every day he works remotely.

“This is a first world problem, and I don’t expect any sympathy; I just want to grumble,” the Reddit employee wrote at the beginning of his post. “We now have to choose how many days we will be contractually in office and our compensation is based on that.”

Man working from home, sitting on a couch with his dog Valeriia Boiko | Canva Pro

Rather than requiring all employees to return fully, it appears that leadership is punishing people who work from home by cutting their wages and promised benefits.

“They just sent an email saying that those just at my level now have to wait four years for a car,” he adds.

The company withholds cars and bonuses from employees who choose to remain remote.

“For every remote work day we add to our contract, we lose 20% of our car allowance,” the employee finished, adding, “It sucks, but I can’t point to any part of it as unfair or unreasonable.”

Work from home employee looks angrily at his desk. Shironosov | CanvaPro

While it is logical that the company does not want to provide a company car for it employees who do not travel to workeliminating merit-based bonuses for remote workers is demonstrably unfair.

Many commenters reluctantly agreed that the company has the right to implement this policy, even if it is unfair. “It’s manipulation at best.”

Whether this extra compensation was in writing or not, they use it as bait to control employees, which is a hallmark of a toxic workplace.

“This is absolutely unfair,” one person argued. “They eliminate the compensation they would otherwise give you, and say you can’t get it back unless you change your current work behavior.”

Many employers are taking advantage of legal loopholes to undercompensate remote workers because they fear they are “misusing” time.

It’s ironic that many companies are more concerned about their employees ‘abusing’ the flexibility of work-from-home options than advocate for absenteeism due to illness or ensuring their leave policies are fair and equitable.

They believe that, under false authoritarianism in the workplace, they have the right to control their adult employees’ time—and apparently their livelihood and compensation. That’s why disturbing research like the Alliance Virtual Offices report is not surprising: remote workers are almost 40% less likely to receive bonuses than office-based colleagues.

Especially when leadership uses “culture” as an excuse to force people back into the office while jeopardizing their compensation and financial benefits, it’s no wonder that these initiatives only result in resentment and frustration.

Great bosses prioritize the job satisfaction and financial stability of their employees. If they needed employees to come back to the office – which, let’s face it, they do rarely a necessity for productivity and the well-being of the company – they would work with employees on a plan that made everyone feel supported.

Especially after they experience the joys of the flexibility of working from home, bringing them back won’t be easy. Even if you do, they will prepare their resume to leave.

Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango, focusing on health and wellness, social policy and human interest stories