Big companies enforcing RTO mandates may drive workers into the arms of startups and small businesses

• RTO mandates could drive workers to startups and small businesses.
• These businesses may favor remote work to avoid expensive office leases.

Disgruntled workers who are forced to come back to the office by major companies, could present an opportunity for startups and small businesses to scoop up talent.

Dan Schawbel, a future-of-work expert and managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, told Business Insider that employees at big companies with return-to-office mandates might find more flexible working options at smaller firms.

Startups and small businesses may not want to take on the burden of expensive office leases, and therefore, give workers more flexibility to work from home, he said.

"Those companies are primed to take a lot of this talent and grow and compete against the bigger companies," he added.

Major companies are calling workers back to the office including Google, Goldman Sachs, Meta, Citigroup, and Salesforce. Most recently, Dell told its employees to come into the office three days a week.

CEOs cite improved productivity and collaboration as reasons for these mandates, but some research shows that it's hurting morale and making workers want to quit.

Schawbel told BI that RTO requirements are a "massive disruption" to workers’ lives because many made life decisions based on their companies’ promises of flexible work.

"They made big decisions, especially millennials who had moved, they bought a house, they settled down, they had kids,” he said.

"Now those same employers that enabled them to have the freedom to live wherever they wanted to at that point in time and not have to worry about going to the office for safety reasons during COVID, now they're being asked to come back to the office," he added.