Staff at WPP, the world’s biggest advertising agency, are pushing back against a new policy requiring them to work in the office four days a week.
A change.org petition, started by Concerned WPP Employees, has more than 6,000 signatures against CEO Mark Read’s global directive starting in April.
More than 3,000 staff at WPP Australia, including at GroupM, Ogilvy, Mindshare and Wavemaker, are also affected.
Recruiters say three days a week at the office has emerged as the standard. Four days isn’t as attractive to talent seeking roles.
Jimmy Sutton, marketing & analytics talent agent @ Aquent Australia, said the fact that WPP staff have already started a petition to stop the mandate doesn’t bode well.
“Imposed return-to-work mandates feel like a lack of trust and requiring 4 days in office may be a tipping point for a lot of workers," he said.
"Three days in the office and two days WFH continues to be the most common arrangement with our clients, with four days in office indefinitely cutting down the number available talent pool when needing to recruit.
“It’ll be a shock to many of WPP’s employees as the WPP agencies I’ve recruited for only had two days in the office.”
Virginia Scully of talent consultancy Human Kind Collective said the mandate sends a message about trust.
“Trust can take years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. Organisations with high trust levels consistently outperform their low-trust counterparts across every meaningful metric,” she said.
“When organisations undermine this trust through rigid control measures, they risk damaging their foundation.”
The 2024 Mentally Healthy industry survey revealed 70% of the Australian ad industry workforce experienced burnout.
“One-size-fits-all mandates create a perfect storm of psychosocial hazards, exposing organizations to significant legal, financial, and human risks through reduced autonomy and tightened control,” said Scully.
The petition says WPP's decision seems to be a step backwards in supporting employee wellbeing and work-life balance, citing anecdotal data that either does not exist or has been misrepresented.
Read had said data from across WPP agencies showed that higher levels of office attendance are associated with stronger employee engagement, improved client survey scores and better financial performance.
"More of our clients are moving in this direction and expecting it of the teams who work with them," he said.
However, the petition says the mental and social effects on employees due to such rigid work regimes can be extensive.
“Therefore, we call on Mark Read and the decision-making body at WPP to reconsider this mandate and adopt a policy that respects and prioritises the well-being and preferences of its employees.
“It's time to move towards a future of work that's flexible, mindful, inclusive, and evidence-based. Please sign this petition to support our cause.”
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