Major Dutch companies enforce return to office policies

Several major companies in the Netherlands, such as ING and ABN Amro, have introduced new policies to get workers to return to the office on a more regular basis. After years of primarily working from home, staff and unions are worried about overcrowding and issues with collective labour agreements. 

Dutch banks want staff to work from office more often

ING has recently enforced a new return to office policy in which staff are now required to work at the office for at least two days each week. One of the days must be on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday. According to Financieele Dagblad, similar policies are being implemented at other Dutch banks, for instance, managers at ABN Amro have ordered team members to be at the office twice a week. 

The largest bank in the Netherlands is introducing the policy to improve office attendance, because the “physical presence of staff would improve mutual cooperation”. ING also believes it would “strengthen the connection with the company, stimulate creativity and help new employees feel at home more quickly”.

The fact that the Dutch company is building several new office locations could also be a motivating factor in pushing workers to go to the office more often. At the beginning of last year, ING announced the development of a new head office in Amsterdam Zuidoost to join the existing three in the Dutch capital. The purchase of the location cost ING 24 million euros with the intention of accommodating 2.435 employees daily.

More workers in the Netherlands pushed to return to office

Employees at ING were reportedly not impressed with the plans, with concerns about travel time and a possible drop in their productivity. “The open plan offices make it like working in a chicken coop on busy days,” one worker told FD. 

Often on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the most common office days in the Netherlands, there are shortages of parking, meeting rooms and quiet workplaces. Unions are also concerned that the return to office policy for some companies is not in accordance with collective labour agreements. 

Companies such as Just Eat Takeaway and Amazon have also increased the number of office days. Rabobank is not forcing more office time as of yet, but is trying to encourage higher attendance on certain days by offering free lunches on Friday, for example.