Return to Office Mandates: Top 3 Challenges for Employers and Employees
Full time return-to-office (RTO) mandates – most recently from JPMorgan Chase, Amazon and now the U.S. federal government – have made headlines across the country and caused consternation among remote and hybrid employees. Whether one is – or is not – a supporter of remote and hybrid work, the challenges that arise with RTO and with remote/hybrid arrangements are important to consider from both sides – employers and employees.
Baylor University management expert Sara Jansen Perry, Ph.D., who studies employee stress and well-being, including the role of remote/hybrid work and leadership, said working from home has existed in some form for decades, and research suggests it will continue to be an option for many workers and organizations.
"We know many employees value remote work so much as a benefit that they will choose jobs based on whether it is an option,” Perry said. “Fortunately, we have seen many benefits of remote work as well, including employee productivity, cost savings, enhanced work-life balance and well-being, to name a few. Even if employees return to the office a few days a week, these benefits can still be realized, including longer term organizational benefits in terms of retention and applicant attraction. However, if an organization is set on returning to office full time, there are some challenges they should consider and proactively address.” Perry highlights 3 key challenges about Return to Office mandates from the perspectives of both employers and employees, applying foundational topics in organizational psychology, among them leadership, trust, culture, performance management and retention.
Those three key challenges are a must read and part of the entire article attached below:
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Sara Jansen Perry, Ph.D., The Ben Williams Professor of Management in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, is a nationally recognized researcher on employee stress and well-being, including the role of remote/hybrid work and leadership.
Sara is available to speak with media about the recent Return to Work announcement for the federal bureaucracy. Simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
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3 min
Baylor Expert: Finding Work-Life Balance with Remote Work
Before March 2020, the idea of remote work was not a realistic option for many businesses. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed options drastically for employees almost overnight, and the remote work experiment began. Fast forward to today, and traditional work styles are no longer considered the only option and many employees are looking for the freedom to choose where they work.
Remote work is generally viewed positively, but it has its own distinct set of challenges, and businesses that help employees respond to these challenges will benefit with a more productive and healthier workforce, said remote/hybrid work expert Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., The Ben Williams Professor of Management at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business. This is especially important as remote work continues to be a popular option. According to a Gallup poll conducted in August 2022, 34% of employees prefer to work exclusively remote, 60% said they would like a hybrid model and only 6% would like to return to a traditional full-time on-site model.
Two keys to success for remote work: flexibility and intentionality Perry has researched the issues around changes to the workplace for over a decade. In a recent article, Interruptions in Remote Work: A Resource-based Model of Work and Family Stress, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, Perry and her research team surveyed 391 couples to understand the difficulties in finding the balance between work and family when at least one of them works from home. The research shows the keys to success for remote work are flexibility and intentionality.
“You can't have a one-size-fits-all; it has to be a nuanced approach,” Baylor University's Sara J. Perry said. Perry identified two risks to successful remote working:
Increased interruptions from family members Blurring of work life with family life Develop healthy break habits Unexpected work interruptions make it difficult to focus on the work tasks, and the lack of boundaries between work and family can turn job duties into a non-stop endeavor for the remote employee. These interruptions can cause frustration, a lack of focus and difficulties getting back on task that can eventually put stress on family relationships.
“The simple act of establishing effective breaks during work hours can help people sustain their well-being and job satisfaction without sacrificing productivity. The negative effects of not establishing healthy break habits include increased stress for the employee and their family,” Perry said. “If you’re using your breaks wisely, the study suggests that those intentional breaks reduce the damage that interruptions.” A good place to start for remote employees is incorporating some non-work goals into breaks throughout the workday, which can be as simple as starting or finishing a household chore. According to Perry, these activities make a difference in overall stress, engagement and productivity. Breaks focused on self care are also important to include throughout the workday.
“Meditating or taking a nap makes you feel restored because you are doing things that make you feel accomplished and give your brain a break from your actual work,” Perry said. Employers also have an important role to play in establish a habit of intentional work breaks.
“A lot of people say, ‘I never take breaks,’ or ‘I don't take enough breaks,’” Perry said. “By offering staff the autonomy to plan their own workday that includes breaks without guilt, employers also benefit. Reducing the stress of struggling to maintain a work-life balance will also reduce burnout.” Understanding how to overcome these and other remote work challenges requires employers and employees be “intentional about meaningful communications and connections,” Perry said.
She added that leaders who recognize the importance of work versus family time can help employees to develop strategies that allow them to grow and learn while maintaining a healthy balance between work and family.
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2 min
Baylor Remote-Work Expert Shares Tips with The New York Times
Sara Perry, Ph.D., assistant professor of management in Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, is a nationally recognized expert on remote work and working from home.
In 2018, Perry led a team of management researchers who examined the relationship between stress and remote work, which resulted in a study published in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. Dr. Perry was recently a featured expert in The New York Times' piece by Jen A. Miller, "How To Work From Home, If You've Never Done It Before," which was written as millions of people were suddenly faced with launching home offices as a result of COVID-19.
Regarding setting boundaries:
But being expected to work from home full time while also home-schooling children full time is just not going to be realistic, said Sara Perry, assistant professor of management at Baylor University. “There’s a lot demanding of your time and energy and resources right now,” she said. This may mean having conversations with managers about adjusting their expectations, given the extraordinary circumstances. On the topic of "putting work away":
For those who are used to working in an office, the evening commute is often a way to end the work day and begin home life. Dr. Perry said it’s important to continue to make the same transition, even if you’re just moving from one spot on the couch to the other. So put your work materials and your laptop away (or just shut work applications if you want to use your computer for something else). She added that this is crucial right now because “you’re already being challenged in terms of your personal resources,” she said. “You still have to take that recovery time from work.”
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Media
Biography
A professor of management in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, Dr. Sara Jansen Perry is a nationally recognized researcher on employee stress and well-being, including the role of remote/hybrid work and leadership, and has published articles in numerous top journals such as Journal of Management and Journal of Applied Psychology. She is co-author of "Organized Innovation: A Blueprint for Renewing America's Prosperity" (Oxford University Press).
Dr. Perry has been consulted by The New York Times, Washington Post, Fast Company and other media outlets for her expertise on remote work and employee stress. She also consults with both private and public organizations on best practices in remote and hybrid work and managing the employee experience overall.
In addition, she helps oversee the Human Resource Management major at Baylor and teaches classes related to conflict resolution, negotiation, talent acquisition and employee relations.
Areas of Expertise
Work Life Balance
Remote & Hybrid Work
Employee Stress and Health
Accomplishments
Brent Clum Research Award
Awarded in 2023 for research productivity among tenured faculty in the Hankamer School of Business
Outstanding Faculty Award - Scholarship
Awarded in 2017 by Baylor University for outstanding scholarship
Young Researcher Award
Awarded in April 2017 by Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business
Best Presentation Award
Awarded in June, 2015 by ASEE Engineering Management track
Best Paper in Innovation Track
Awarded by the Southern Management Association.
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Education
University of Houston
Ph.D.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
University of Houston
M.A.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
University of Missouri Columbia
B.S.
Computer Science
Affiliations
Academy of Management
American Psychological Association
American Society of Engineering Education
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists
Baylor remote/hybrid work expert Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., is interviewed by CNN Newsource about the top challenges of Return to Office mandates for both employers and employees.
Living the dream: work in the 21st century will be much more fun
PassW0RD (UK) online
2023-01-23
AUDIO: Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management at Baylor and scholar on remote/hybrid work, is a guest on the UK PassW0rd radio program that focuses on the future of work. Perry’s interview runs from 23:10-32:43 and again from 34:17-36:49.
Baylor remote/hybrid work expert Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management, is quoted about the positives and challenges of remote work, suggesting that businesses who help employees respond to these challenges will benefit with a more productive and healthier workforce.
How work gossip has changed in the age of hybrid work
Fast Company online
2022-11-08
Add another benefit to working from home: With fewer serendipitous watercooler conversations, a fully remote team may slow down office gossip, says Sara J. Perry, professor of management at Baylor University, but it may be a little more complicated with hybrid teams.
Future of Work Wednesdays: A Conversation About Hybrid Work with Dr. Sara Perry of Baylor University
Robin online
2022-06-15
Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management at Baylor, is interviewed about the future of hybrid work and its various challenges and opportunities.
One Simple Practice Change Could Remove Hybrid Working Stress
CMS Wire online
2022-05-23
Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management who researches employee stress and remote work, is quoted in this article about tension related to hybrid work. Perry said it can be tied to a lack of autonomy or employee choice as research shows that workers want flexibility and the opportunity to work in the way that suits them best.
Hating hybrid work? Here’s how to make it less painful.
The Washington Post online
2022-04-13
Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management and an expert in employee stress and well-being, remote work and leadership, is among the work experts quoted in this article about how employees can successfully navigate the challenges of hybrid work.
This article about business leaders and recruiters alike being able to recognize traits that indicate a candidate will be successful in a remote role cites a recent study by Baylor management professor Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., which found that individuals with both high amounts of emotional stability and autonomy were best able to cope with strain (i.e., exhaustion, disengagement and dissatisfaction) in a remote work environment.
The Pandemic Challenged Conventional Thinking About Work. Can We Go Back To Business As Usual?
“The Source” Texas Public Radio online
2021-06-08
AUDIO: Remote work expert Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management at Baylor, is a guest on “The Source” on Texas Public Radio to discuss the future of work in a post-pandemic world and if the traditional workplace will – or should – return to its pre-COVID ways.
Why Control Over Boundaries Is Key To Successful Work-Life Balance
Forbes online
2020-08-14
This article references a study conducted by Baylor researchers Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management and Emily Hunter, Ph.D., associate professor of management, Hankamer School of Business, on “Stress in remote work: two studies testing the Demand-Control-Person model,” which analyzed the autonomy of remote workers in relation to their stress levels and emotional stability.
Introverts vs. extroverts: How personality traits affect working from home
CTV online
2020-06-04
Baylor management professor Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., an expert source on working from home, is interviewed for this article about her 2018 study, which found that employees with low emotional stability have a harder time thriving in remote work settings.
How to Work From Home, if You’ve Never Done It Before
The New York Times
2020-03-12
Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., professor in Baylor University's management department, is a featured expert in this story about the challenges of working from home and remote work as a result of coronavirus as well as important practical considerations of a work-from-home environment.
An article by Sara J. Perry, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, who is an expert on issues of work-life balance. In this article, she addresses her research – and the research of others – regarding remote work.
Adapting boundary preferences to match reality of hybrid work: A latent change score analysis☆☆
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Min (Maggie) Wan, Dawn S. Carlson, Sara Jansen Perry, Merideth J. Thompson, Yejun (John) Zhang, K. Michele Kacmar
2025-01-09
The hybrid work trend, where employees work from home and from the workplace, brings substantial changes to how employees manage their work and family lives, as well as the boundary between those roles. An important yet overlooked question is how hybrid workers, whose work environment overlaps with their home environment for at least part of every work week, navigate and adapt to work-family stressors over time. Drawing upon adaptation theory and boundary theory, we examine how work-family conflict triggers changes in boundary integration preferences, which further contribute to changes in work-family balance satisfaction. Moreover, we investigate the moderating role of spousal interaction, examining ways it shapes the preference-satisfaction relationship.
Love on the rocks: Unraveling effects of remote employees' work–family conflict on couples' divorce intentions
Applied Psychology
Min (Maggie) Wan, Dawn S. Carlson, K. Michele Kacmar, Sara Jansen Perry, Merideth J. Thompson
2024-03-02
This research examines the detrimental impact of remote employees' work-to-family conflict (WFC) on divorce intentions for both the remote employee and spouse. Building upon the spillover-crossover framework and relative deprivation theory, we examine the paths of spillover to the remote employee's divorce intentions, crossover influences of a remote employee's WFC on divorce intentions through the spouse (i.e., relative deprivation, resentment toward the employee's remote work, and relationship tension), and crossback of the remote employee's WFC through the spouse and back to their own divorce intentions.
When work and family collide: ‘Resource Caravans’ of personal and contextual resources in remote work
New Technology, Work and Employment
Dawn S. Carlson, Sara J. Perry, Micki Kacmar, Min (Maggie) Wan, Merideth J. Thompson
2023-06-07
Research on remote work remains without consensus as to its benefits, with continued questions about which factors may enable it to be more beneficial to employees working remotely. Applying Conservation of Resources theory, we explore the impact of ‘resource caravans’ on ‘work–family balance’ and subsequent ‘well-being’ in a sample of 446 remote workers. Our findings contribute to ongoing sociological debates by showing exactly how flexibility and control play a role in the remote workplace.
Facing an Unexpected Negotiation Partner: the Impact of Hiring Manager Gender Role Violation on Job Candidates
Journal of Business and Psychology
Sara Jansen Perry, Emily M. Hunter, Abigail R. Corrington & Michelle “Mikki” R. Hebl
2022-12-02
We conducted three studies to explore how job candidates perceive and respond to hiring managers who commit gender role violations during salary negotiations, extending previous studies restricted to economic outcomes and backlash effects by focusing on a range of job candidate reactions. We apply expectancy violation and role incongruity theories to suggest that job candidates respond more strongly to hiring managers who violate gender role expectations than those who conform to expectations. We suggest that this reaction is more negative in response to agentic female hiring managers than any other type and more positive in response to communal male hiring managers than any other type.
Interruptions in Remote Work: a Resource-based Model of Work and Family Stress
Journal of Business and Psychology
Sara Jansen Perry, Dawn S. Carlson, K. Michele Kacmar, Min (Maggie) Wan & Merideth J. Thompson
2022-09-23
We use the conservation of resources (COR) theory to propose a work-family model of stress in remote work. We propose that interruptions from family are a unique hindrance stressor, detrimental for the employee’s challenge and hindrance stress responses in remote work, which, in turn, have distinct effects on resource-oriented attitudes and states of both the employee and spouse.
Disparate Safety Enforcement: Curvilinear Effects, Mechanisms, and Boundary Conditions of Supervisor-Rated Leader–Member Exchange
Journal of Management
Sara Jansen Perry, Natalia M. Lorinkova, Melih Madanoglu
2021-12-23
Across three studies, we integrate relational leadership theory with affective events theory to examine the leader perspective in dyadic relationships and how this perspective influences differential leader behaviors directed toward each subordinate in terms of safety enforcement.
