Companies Offer 'Recharge Days' to Combat Return-to-Office Frustration
Companies are offering 'recharge' days to workers enraged about return-to-office
Some companies are reportedly offering employees “recharge” days off to soften the blow of being forced back into the office.
The perk, in which workers are given extra days off or encouraged to take existing vacation time, is meant to address widespread employee frustration at having to give up the flexibility of remote work and return to the office, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
Companies that have embraced the idea include the software company Qualtrics, the consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers and the vacation rental site Vrbo, according to the report.
Some companies offer a monthly “recharge” day off in addition to standard vacation days. Others, like PwC, have urged employees to take time off anyway.
PwC instituted what it calls “Fri-yays” in the summer of 2021, in which US employees were encouraged to take most Fridays off between July and Labor Day. According to the Journal, the initiative was largely driven by burnout as some employees were found to be regularly working up to 70 hours per week.
The added days off, however, are generally seen as a small concession to employees who were largely accustomed to working remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic sent many office workers home more than three years ago.
Many employees have fought back against orders to return to their desks. Some workers feel it’s unnecessary, given that they have performed their jobs effectively from home.
Others have said the return to the office represents an unfair burden on those who’ve made lifestyle changes in the past three years, including those who’ve moved farther away from major cities. One financial worker told The Post that his commute from his Connecticut home to Wall Street went from one hour each way to nearly three hours following recent subway service cuts.
Meanwhile, companies have tried various tactics to get employees back to the office, including tracking worker attendance, mandating minimum in-office days, and offering perks like free lunches and company outings.
But, so far, many office buildings remain sparsely populated. According to Kastle Systems, which tracks security swipes into offices, the office occupancy rate across 10 major US cities averaged 50.4% in the week ending March 29. New York City has lagged with a 43.1% office occupancy rate during the same period.
