Meta‘s constantly changing return-to-office policies, including new tracking requirements, highlight a wider empathy gap among CEOs, according to Heidi Gardner, a leadership advisor at Harvard University.
Meta has flip-flopped from a broad remote work plan during Covid to mandating 3 in-office days starting September 5th. New rules like badge swipes for attendance and constant physical location sharing have caused distrust, says Gardner.
Frequent policy pivots in a short timeframe signal a lack of transparency and empathy from leadership, she argues. Building trust requires matching words with actions consistently.
This empathy deficiency is a wider issue among CEOs driving for results over employee needs post-Covid, say experts. Layoffs at tech firms may also contribute, causing bosses to ignore individual concerns.
Meta laid off over 20,000 since late 2022. The remaining staff likely interpret new restrictive policies less charitably as a result.
But return-to-office mandates should justify the benefit of in-person collaboration, especially when workers resist. Gardner says bosses must understand and address the root concerns fueling that hesitation.
Empathy, she argues, is an essential leadership skill, now more than ever. Meta’s ongoing policy whiplash indicates that this quality remains missing as offices mandate comebacks.
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