New Delhi: In a pushback against the return-to-office (RTO) trend, thousands of workers from WPP, have signed a petition urging the company to reconsider its newly announced policy requiring employees to return to the office for four days a week starting in April.
The petition, which has garnered over 11,000 signatures in just four days since its launch on Change.org, criticises the mandate announced by WPP's CEO Mark Read as a "step backwards" in a post-COVID era where flexible work arrangements have become the norm.
The initiative, started by a group identifying as "Concerned WPP Employees," argued that the decision negatively impacts employee well-being and work-life balance, citing "anecdotal data that either does not exist or has been misrepresented."
WPP, which employs over 100,000 people globally across agencies like Ogilvy, GroupM, and Grey, had previously allowed its various units to set their own hybrid working policies. However, Read's recent memo to staff emphasised the benefits of in-person work for creativity, client engagement, and financial performance, stating that "we do our best work when we are together in person."
The petition has sparked a robust debate within the company and the broader industry, especially given the context of similar mandates by other corporations like Amazon, Publicis, and Deutsche Bank, which have also faced employee resistance. Critics of WPP's policy argue that it could lead to decreased morale, increased stress, and potentially higher turnover rates, particularly among employees who have adapted well to remote work or have specific life circumstances that necessitate flexibility.
Supporters of the petition highlight the mental and social impacts of rigid office regimes, calling for a policy that respects and prioritises employee preferences and well-being. The petition also references the lack of robust data supporting the benefits of in-person work over remote or hybrid setups, challenging the transparency and validity of the data cited by WPP's leadership.
In response to the backlash, a WPP spokesperson acknowledged the unpopularity of the mandate but defended it as "the right policy for the long-term interests of the company as a whole." They emphasised that the implementation would be done collaboratively and pragmatically, suggesting some flexibility in how the policy might be applied across different teams and regions.
This situation at WPP is reflective of a larger conversation happening in many workplaces about the future of work post-pandemic. With a significant portion of its workforce expressing dissent, WPP's next steps could set a precedent for how companies balance business needs with employee satisfaction in the evolving work landscape.