At Meta, employees said bye to free laundry service, while other companies are going cheap when it comes to office snacks. Employers also are halting new hiring and pausing business travel as well as looking to save on software licenses that might mean an end to Zoom in favor of less popular remote call-in platforms.
Companies that have not been eager to have workers go back to the office are most likely to look to reduce real estate costs, said Rebecca Kehoe, a professor of human resources studies at Cornell University. But even employers who asked their staff to return could change course. “This might actually be the push that organizations need to be open to a more remote approach,” Kehoe said.