Russian companies have started to return employees to their offices en masse

Russian companies have begun to massively reduce the remote format of work and return employees to offices amid a management crisis and attempts to strengthen control over teams. Vladislav Bykhanov, Managing partner of Cornerstone HR company, told Izvestia about this on May 23.

According to him, the problem lies not so much in remote work as in the inability of some managers to adapt to new conditions.

"Today we are witnessing not a crisis of remote work, but a crisis of management. Many managers feel powerless, because the old management methods no longer work, and they have not yet mastered the new ones," Bykhanov said.

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The expert explained that in conditions of economic instability, employers are increasingly relying on the physical presence of employees in the office, hoping to increase productivity in this way.

"There is an illusion that if everyone is returned to the offices, productivity will increase dramatically. In fact, many companies are trying to switch back to manual management that is understandable to managers. Then the next step is to introduce rods as a motivation tool," he said.

According to Bykhanov, the conflict over the removal is gradually turning into a systemic crisis of corporate culture. Managers demand more control, while employees are no longer ready to return to the model of total office presence.

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The expert stressed that remote work has long been a part of the service economy, where employers do not pay for a person's presence in the office, but for a specific result. This primarily concerns the fields of IT, marketing, PR, design, analytics, consulting, and online education.

At the same time, there are industries where the remote format is almost impossible. Among them are the hotel business, construction, manufacturing, logistics, medicine and the service sector. Bykhanov believes that the main risk today lies not in the format of work, but in the imitation of activity and the lack of effective leadership.

According to the expert, the coming years will be a test for Russian management. Companies that can move from presence control to result management will gain a competitive advantage, while others risk facing employee burnout and increased staff turnover.

Career consultant at the Profi service.Vladislav Taushankov told Izvestia on May 5 that the probation period is a key stage in the adaptation of a new employee: it is during this period that the employer evaluates his professional and personal qualities and decides on further cooperation. The expert recalled that in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the maximum probation period is three months, and for senior positions it can reach six months.