Ruto Calls Out Bosses Forcing Employees To Go Back To Offices [VIDEO]

President William Ruto on Saturday, December 9 criticised employers who have resorted to compelling their employees to return to physical work in offices and disregarding the Work From Home (WFH) systems that were popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking during the official opening of the Youth Connekt Africa summit held in Nairobi, the Head of State admitted to going into loggerheads with employers who still subscribe to the idea of traditional jobs.

According to him, this implied dressing in official wear that includes a tie and a suit on some occasions, going to an office which could be several kilometres away from home and an employer having his exclusive office space within a company.

Ruto argued that the employers appeared allergic to the new norm which has seen a rapid shift in workplace culture which includes among others dressing casually to the office and in other cases, working remotely.

President Ruto calls out employers forcing their employees to return to physical offices#ViralVideos#YouthConnektAfrica2023 pic.twitter.com/lD4Ocy9I14 — Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) December 9, 2023

"The trouble I run into sometimes is that there are people who are used to traditional jobs. They believe that a job is when you have a tie, you've gone to an office and you have a boss sitting somewhere.

"They cannot fathom that you can be in a t-shirt, in your home, in your house and you're working," he slammed.

Reportedly, 90 percent of companies plan to implement return-to-office policies by the end of 2024, according to an August report from Resume Builder, which surveyed 1,000 company leaders, with nearly 30 percent stating that their company will threaten to fire employees who don’t comply with in-office requirements. 

However, when companies force people to return to the office, they destabilize their workforce which ultimately hurts the company seeking to retain and motivate talent. 

Here are four ways a mandated return to office damages the workforce:

• Higher attrition. 42 percent of companies with return-to-office mandates suffered more employee attrition than they had anticipated, according to a Unispace report.
• Harder recruiting. 29 percent of companies enforcing office returns struggled with recruiting
• More turnover. 76 percent of employees will quit if their companies pull the plug on flexible work schedules, according to a Greenhouse report.
• Perceived pay cut. Workers view an end to flexible work as equivalent to a 2 percent to 3 percent pay cut.

Furthermore, to express his dissent against companies clinging on to old office beliefs, President Ruto slammed a court ruling compelling Kenyans working in foreign organisations to get appointment letters.

"We have a very interesting case in Court in Kenya where the court has ruled that if you are working in Nairobi for a company in the US, you must get an appointment from the company in the US.

"Do you know how ridiculous that is? Are you interested in a letter of appointment or are you interested in working and earning a salary?" he posed, though without mentioning the court that had issued the ruling.

Ruto believed that the ruling was outrageous and showed how current laws were yet to accept the new norm in the workspace brought about by technology.

As a result, he announced that his administration was working on amending part of the Constitution of Kenya which aims to recognise remote jobs and working from home in the country, adding that remote and online jobs would open up the youth to several untapped opportunities.

"We have a new model of jobs that our laws did not see. Shortly we will be changing the law in Kenya so that we can appreciate that there are remote jobs.

"What matters is that you are working, it does not matter whether you are wearing a suit, or your hair is combed. What matters is you know what you are doing and you're doing it well," he added.