Returning To The Office With Carrots Or Sticks—And Raising Wages At Chobani

This published version of Forbes' Future of Work newsletter offers the latest news on disruptive technologies, managing the workforce and trends in the remote work debate.

Detail of the entrance to the Google UK offices in London, with the Google logo visible above the doorway, taken on June 4, 2019. (Photo by Olly Curtis/Future via Getty Images)

The debate over getting people back to the office is becoming a question of carrots versus sticks: Are incentives the way to get there, or will the potential for consequences have more results? Different companies are trying different approaches. Google, according to a report published this week in the Washington Post, is trying to enforce its three-days-in-office hybrid policy by saying nonattendance could impact performance reviews. Salesforce, meanwhile, is trying to appeal to workers’ altruism, donating to charity based on how many days employees come to the office over a period in June.

It's hard to know which will work. But there's little question efforts to get people back into the office are increasing, and are only likely to ramp up over the second half of the year. At our Forbes Future of Work Summit last week, Activision Blizzard Chief Talent Officer Alex DiLeonardo said the company would be asking some business units to return onsite full time this year. Employers have become firmer in their mandatory policies. And many are saying feedback is lacking when people are not onsite together.

Until recently, many companies have been trying to simply make the workplace enough of a draw that people want to come in—offering them a so-called "return on commute," as Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins described it to me earlier this year. But that "magnet" versus "mandate" approach may not prove to be enough in some workplaces. The second half of the year—especially once the summer is over—is likely to show us a lot.

For more insights from chief people officers and thought leaders about the return to office dilemma—and how hybrid work is really working—check out our new highlights page from last week's Future of Work Summit for insights from Slack CEO Lidiane Jones, PwC Chief People Officer Yolanda Seals-Coffield, bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi and many more. Hope it's a great weekend.

Forbes’ Diane Brady reports from McKinsey's annual media day on what CEOs are asking the management consultancy about when it comes to AI and the future of work. Anu Madgavkar, a McKinsey Global Institute partner who leads global research on talent trends, said continued job-switching points to resilience and reasons for optimism, though accelerating productivity growth will be needed to keep the momentum going. Read more from Diane's piece here.

Jobless claims unexpectedly surged to the highest level since October 2021, reports Forbes’ Katherine Hamilton, as the number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose to 261,000 last week, according to a Thursday report from the Labor Department. Meanwhile, Friday's jobs report found that the labor market added a "staggering" 339,000 jobs last month, reported Forbes’ Jonathan Ponciano. Meanwhile, job cuts continue, with Spotify announcing plans to lay off 200 employees.

Though geared at academic writing, an AI detector developed by the University of Kansas was found to be able to detect AI-generated content in academic papers with a 99% accuracy rate. The model had a 100% accuracy rate of identifying human-created articles from AI-generated ones, Forbes’ Arianna Johnson reported. Will it work on work-based content, too?

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic's new book, I, Human, offers a look at what competent leadership looks like in the age of automation and artificial intelligence. The Manpower Group Chief Innovation Officer and professor at University College London and Columbia University sat down with Forbes contributor Anne Sugar about his new book.

Senior contributor Alonzo Martinez weighs in with his latest roundup of legislation that could impact candidate screening with a look at pay equity and salary transparency laws that aim to address wage inequality. While several states have already implemented pay transparency laws, others are considering them, including Illinois, Chicago, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon, reports Martinez.

Chobani Chief People Officer Share Eaton.

Chobani Chief People Officer Shari Eaton, who in November joined the yogurt company founded by Hamdi Ulukaya, has built a career working for founder-led companies, including Peloton, Amazon and Starbucks. She started in operations but grew into H.R. roles in recent years, a move she says is becoming more common. Forbes chatted with Eaton about working for founders, raising wages for front-line workers and the challenges of responsible growth. Five takeaways are below, lightly edited for length and clarity.

What advice do you have for people in H.R. roles at companies with a strong founder presence?

You just have to always come from a place of understanding that this person built this company from the ground up. ... I’m always just trying to be really thoughtful; try to ask great questions to understand what sincerely held beliefs might exist. When you know that, then you know how you can approach any situation. I’ve yet to find a founder that doesn't love data, however, so I always like to bring a heaping of data to the party. Anecdotes are anecdotes, but data really tells the story.

What have you prioritized in your first months on the job?

We just took an initiative to increase our minimum wage for our full-time hourly employees to $20 an hour. ... These are things that [came] as a result of listening sessions, as a result of spending time and looking at a benefits benchmarking review. We have been incredibly forward thinking on our pay, but we decided to take this next step to $20 per hour—we just actually announced it internally [June 6]. Additionally, we looked at our 401(k) and increased our 100% match to the 4% contribution. The third thing is we're solidifying a child care partner to help us deliver resources to our employees.

The company has gotten a lot of attention for its share plan for employees. With an IPO postponed, what can you tell me about the plan, and how employees benefit?

This predates me, but in 2016, Chobani decided to recognize all of its employees for their dedication and hard work and gave them share ownership. Hamdi always believes that they are truly the backbone of the success of the company, so we wanted to make sure that they were rewarded. We still offer shares to all new employees. ... Each employee receives grants and rewards that are individual to their job level and position, so there's no average or one value for the shares.

What challenges keep you up at night when you think about the future?

I think about scaling at the right, appropriate amount and level for the business and ensuring that we're continuing to stay really hyper-focused on staying at the right size and shape for the business that we have. … I don't know that I'm losing any sleep over it, but when you're in a situation where you have a nice, healthy business and you're looking to grow it, it's being responsible.

Tell me how you're using AI in your job or on your team.

You know, actually we haven't. Things like ChatGPT are so new and we're adopting a wait-and-see attitude. We've not incorporated it into anything that we're doing yet today.

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