A growing number of businesses have either implemented or are planning return-to-office (RTO) mandates, many requiring workers to be back in the office full-time. But employees accustomed to the flexibility and autonomy of remote work are resisting.
While employers pursuing return-to-office mandates are focused on the perceived benefits—such as improved creativity and collaboration—there are downsides to aggressively demanding a full-time return.
Per Forbes, “A recent survey from ResumeBuilder found that 8 in 10 employers lost talent to return-to-office mandates…Top performers have quit, and there are growing concerns that leaders imposing RTO policies have hidden motives. These motives are hurting office dynamics, harming employee satisfaction, and…limiting the success of the organizations implementing them.”1
Here’s a look at the trends in RTO mandates; the pros and cons of ordering employees back to the office; what managers and leaders are doing wrong; and what they should be doing to maximize both employee engagement and business performance.
What’s Happening with RTO Mandates
An expanding list of high-profile organizations are requiring workers to spend more time (even full-time) in the office.
Per The Hill, as of January 2025, Amazon wants all of “its workers back in the office five days a week.” And not only Amazon: “JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs (are) implementing full return-to-office mandates, too.”2 UPS, Citigroup, Walmart, and Boeing have also announced RTO initiatives recently.
CBS News observed that, “Amazon’s move is unusual for a business in the tech industry, which has largely embraced remote and hybrid work arrangements,” and added to the list of large companies announcing RTO mandates Disney, Starbucks, X (formerly Twitter), and—ironically—Zoom.3
But, having gotten used to the freedom and flexibility of remote work, employees are pushing back. According to Nicholas Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University,” Today, businesses are facing the Great Resistance. After more than two years of remote working, flexible scheduling, and zero commute time, many workers are refusing to head back to the office.”
He backs that up with data. A recent large study he co-authored found that less than half (48.5%) employees who have been ordered to come back to the office five days per week are actually doing so. As Bloom explains, “This means in firms pushing for a full return that a typical employee is ignoring their manager.”4
What’s Likely to Happen Next with RTO Trends
For employees who’ve grown accustomed to enjoying the benefits of remote / hybrid work arrangements, the future outlook is concerning. RTO mandates are expected to pick up over the next few years. Per Yahoo! Finance:
“According to the recent KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook report…83% of UK CEOs (and 79% of their U.S. counterparts) expect to see a full return to the office within three years,”5 and ComputerWorld added that globally, “eight out of 10 business leaders…believe (full-time back-in-the-office work) will become the norm again within three years.”6
Forbes cites another study showing that “70% of companies with flexible work schedules surveyed plan to increase the days employees must work in the office by 2025.”
But their article also points out that this trend is not without risks: “Flexibility and work-life balance have become highly valued among today’s professionals. BambooHR’s 2024 Return to Work report shows that 90% of workers who prefer remote work cite these factors as primary reasons…(in addition) some companies fear (RTO mandates) may weaken their leadership bench and hinder succession planning.”1
Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs, said he “expects 2025 will see a continuation of more RTO mandates, tracking software, and badging enforcement, despite Owl Labs’ and other data indicating that ‘employees want flexibility…That will create a trust barrier between employers and employees.’”7
Why Companies Are Adopting RTO Mandates
Enterprises ordering employees back into the office are doing so for a variety of reasons. In some cases, it’s even based on employee preference: a “Resume Builder survey identified social interactions, faster communication, easier collaboration, and a clear separation between work and home life as reasons that people prefer in-person work.”8
More often though the decision is driven by (at least perceived) benefits to the business. According to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, “We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and, teams tend to be better connected to one another.”2
In the opinion of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, “there are ‘serious weaknesses’ with virtual work, including slowed decision-making and a lack of ‘spontaneous learning and creativity.’”2
As noted by ComputerWorld, “Physical workplaces and physical interaction are better than digital workspaces and meetings when it comes to creative tasks and social/cultural togetherness…employees and managers are quite in agreement.”6
Companies adopting full-time RTO mandates are also concerned about slacking by remote workers. Per The Hill, new research “has found that hybrid or remote working options are allowing people to slack on the job.
“Nearly half (46 per cent of remote employees) say they multitask on work calls. Online shopping, social media and cleaning were the main culprits. The same number said they complete house chores during their working hours,” with others saying they take naps, watch TV, or play video games.
It’s not about productivity, though. “A study from the University of Pittsburgh (found) that being back at the office is no better for productivity, which is often used as the biggest lever to get workers to return…
“The act of being in the office simply doesn’t guarantee productivity. Workplace trends like coffee badging (popping in to swipe your card, have a quick check-in with your team, before going home) and office peacocking (performing your job so you look super-busy) are just as likely to waste workers’ time and diminish their productivity.”2
Why Hybrid Workplaces May Work Better
Corporate CEOs need to carefully weigh those perceived benefits with the research-backed advantages of a more flexible, hybrid workplace approach.
Many employees prefer that sort of flexibility, so providing it is likely to help retain them and keep them engaged. Why? Per the Tampa Bay Business Journal, “People who want to work remotely cited a flexible schedule, lack of commute and improved work-life balance as top reasons for their choice.”8
An article in The Hill adds, “Critics of RTO mandates point out that remote work can be directly linked to employee wellbeing. A 2022 study from Tracking Happiness found that the ability to work remotely increases employee happiness by as much as 20%.”2
Flexible / hybrid work environments also help companies increase workplace diversity. As The Hill notes, “Remote or hybrid work suits many workers well, including women, parents and those with particular needs, such as those with disabilities that may make commuting hard and stressful.”2
The bottom line, per Yahoo! Finance: “Multiple studies suggest that giving people flexibility regarding where they work boosts job satisfaction, work-life balance, health, morale, productivity and ultimately, the bottom line.”5
What Leaders Are Doing Wrong
Based on recent research, it appears that leaders from the front lines to the C-suite are getting a lot wrong regarding RTO mandates, from unconscious biases and mistaken assumptions to just plain bad decisions. Here are several common mistakes.
Proximity Bias
Per The Hill, “Being in the office does guarantee workers something very important: visibility. Proximity bias, aka an unconscious tendency where management tends to favor those who they can literally see, is a real phenomenon. If you’re out of sight, you can be out of mind for your boss, and you won’t get access to prime projects, not to mention promotions.”2
Proximity bias can be especially destructive at tech companies and other firms where employees took advantage of pandemic-era workplace changes to move to lower-cost communities. Moving back to high-cost areas like Silicon Valley, Seattle, or New York may not be practical or even possible.
Yet according to a survey by Resume Builder, 56% of managers care more about and are “more invested in the growth of in-person workers rather than their mostly remote counterparts…
“For employers, the consequences of proximity bias can be steep, including potential for higher turnover and negative impacts on morale…There are also legal considerations to avoiding proximity bias.”9
Sudden Policy Changes
Whether or not requiring all employees to return to the office is the best policy for your organization or not, computer maker Dell provides a case study in the absolutely wrong way to go about it.
Per Business Insider, “Dell informed all sales staff to return to the office five days a week with two day’s notice” (the policy was announced on a Thursday, taking effect the following Monday).
The next week, panicked parents filled over-crowded offices as no one had planned for the sudden influx of formerly remote workers. And without notice to make childcare arrangements, workers with young children were forced to use PTO to take time off to find care.
“‘If we run out of that PTO, then we’re facing disciplinary actions,’ one working parent said. ‘It’s very disheartening. It makes me really not trust the company.’”10
“Backdoor Layoff” Strategy
Multiple Dell employees said they had heard unofficially that the RTO mandate for sales personnel would be extended to workers in other departments at some point. One tech support employee worried that the company was imitating Amazon, whose “strict RTO push could be a ‘backdoor layoff’ strategy to reduce head count without facing the consequences of formal layoffs…
“One remote worker in a technical role said she would have no choice but to quit if Dell’s five-day RTO policy was extended to remote workers. ‘I cannot move close to a Dell office for family reasons, and so they would be forcing my hand to quit.’”
As Business Insider concludes, “Companies are deciding they’re better together, and employees are pissed off.”10
CBS MoneyWatch added that, “Skeptics say Amazon could be imposing the mandate to reduce headcount, as some employees may search for more flexible jobs and depart, without having to lay off workers.” CEO Andy Jassy said the move “is designed to improve company culture.” But Amazon workers are skeptical.3
Even worse, according to Forbes, “A survey by BambooHR found that a quarter of VP and C-suite executives and a fifth of HR pros admitted to hoping for voluntary turnover after implementing a return-to-office policy…This way of downsizing has raised ethical questions. It also raises concerns about the long-term impact on employee trust and company culture.”1
Status Quo Bias
Though many workers have grown accustomed to working remotely and have internalized it as the new normal, many of their supervisors long for a return to the psychological comfort of having their teams in the office full-time. That sets up a conflict. As Yahoo! Finance describes this:
“’Humans have an ingrained psychological preference for what feels familiar, even when evidence suggests that better options may exist,’ says Charlotte Bailey, an integrative trauma-informed psychotherapist and host of Let’s Talk People-Pleasing podcast.
“’Uncertainty fuels anxiety, and anxiety in business is something most leaders want to avoid. It can lead employers to favor the traditional office set-up, where there is more certainty about how work is done.’
“Being averse to perceived uncertainty is linked to a phenomenon called the status quo bias, in which we cling to what’s familiar. Essentially, it is cognitively easier to stick with what you know, rather than process something that may carry an element of risk.”5
Control Dynamics
A recent study from the University of Pittsburgh “found most (return-to-office) directives stem from control dynamics — rather than concrete evidence about the benefits of in-person work.
“’Employers often equate physical presence with productivity and control,’ says Bailey. ‘There’s an unconscious belief that seeing employees at their desks means work is being done, and without that visibility, there’s an increased sense of losing control.’”5
Even when employers do permit remote work, they too often demonstrate a lack of trust. Per CNBC, “Companies are also increasing their efforts to track employees’ attendance (and online activity) during the week. Nearly half of employees say their employer has added or increased the use of employee tracking software to gather activity data in the past year…
“On the employee side, there’s been ‘a severe backlash’ to many attendance and tracking efforts, says Deepali Vyas of Korn Ferry. ‘Employees want autonomy and feeling like they’re not being micromanaged.’7
Confirmation Bias
Per Yahoo! Finance, “Although we like to think our decisions are made deliberately and fairly, we often take mental shortcuts…
“’We all naturally filter information based on what we already believe, which is known as confirmation bias,’ says Bailey…If an employer is already skeptical about remote work, they may be more likely to take note of the negative stories that reinforce their doubts.
“’Businesses might highlight the potential risks of remote work — like reduced collaboration — while ignoring the data or experiences that demonstrate its benefits,’” she adds.5
The article identifies additional logical fallacies feeding the return-to-office push, including social identity (“Employers may believe that in-office work fosters a stronger company culture and sense of team cohesion”) and groupthink (“if some employers start to crackdown on remote work, others may follow suit. Leadership teams may reinforce each other’s beliefs about the necessity of in-office work…Challenging these long-standing norms can feel uncomfortable”).5
None of this is to say that there are no valid reasons for wanting employees to return to the workplace full-time. But many leaders are approaching this change in inadvisable ways and with the wrong justifications.
How Leaders Can Get Work Arrangements Right
Fortunately, there are several steps leaders can take to fix these issues, from leadership training to acknowledging biases to implementing better policies. Here are several actions that can help.
Improve Leadership Skills
Per the Tampa Business Journal, “Many managers lack the training and experience necessary to manage and motivate their staff when they can’t physically see them working…Employers must adopt innovative strategies to foster professional growth in remote employees. That will help bring balance to a hybrid workforce.
“’It’s not the location of the employees, but the quality of the interaction they have with their managers that counts,’ said Anna Williams, human resources director at Digital Silk. ‘Through transparent dialogue, constructive feedback, and tangible growth opportunities, managers can demonstrate their commitment towards the development of remote employees equally to in-person ones.’”
“For a hybrid work model to be successful, businesses must strive to be equitable for all.”9
And as noted in ComputerWorld, “Leadership in the hybrid work models has not developed in the ways and at the pace required. Managers still have an excessive need for control, with no way to deal with this without trying to return to what was previously comfortable (and technical monitoring solutions are hardly the answer either).”6
The ability to effectively manage employees in a remote or hybrid work environment doesn’t come naturally to every leader—but leadership skills can be taught and learned.
Professional development workshops and courses like DiSC Workshop, Emotional Intelligence Training, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Training help leaders and team members better understand how their own innate personality traits and those of the people they work with impact communication styles and preferences, increasing empathy and clarity in discussions.
Conflict Resolution Training can help leaders more ably manage disagreements between management and employees over RTO mandates. And Igniting Team Performance® is a powerful training program to improve team dynamics, communication, and collaboration regardless of workplace structure.
Pay for Presence
Numerous sources have reported that some employers are willing to pay a premium to have employees in the office, and that some employees will happily accept lower pay in exchange for the freedom to work remotely, at least part of the time. That seems like a win-win.
For example, per the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), a “report by the global staffing solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half finds that 2 out of 3 companies surveyed would be willing to increase salaries for new hires who will work in the office, instead of remotely…
“‘There’s less churn in today’s market, which means employers are increasingly focused on strategies to keep their best employees and attract new candidates to address skills gaps,’ said Dawn Fay, operational president at Robert Half. “‘While salary remains a critical factor for today’s professionals, flexible work arrangements, career development and other perks are also top of mind,’ Fay said.11
Differential pay makes practical sense as remote employers enjoy lower expenses for commuting, office attire, and (if applicable) child care. Depending on the magnitude of the pay difference and how many days employees are required to be in the office, remote workers may even come out ahead financially despite lower pay.
Per ComputerWorld, “Ratio researcher Jonas Grafström recently made an appearance in Dagens Nyheter where he argued that working from home is equal to a salary increase of 10%.”6
Indeed, not offering differential pay is likely to be viewed by employees as unfair. As Forbes notes, “43% of surveyed workers said their employers have asked more employees to come in person, with no offers to increase pay. This disconnect has increased expenses for employees without compensating them, putting more hardship on the employees during a particularly tough economic period. This continues to further distrust and resentment among employees.”1
Recognize and Address Biases
Psychotherapists Charlotte Bailey and Dr. Carolyne Keenan advise leaders to think about their true motivations rather than act on their own conscious or unconscious biases. Don’t punish an entire team or make sweeping changes based on a few individuals who have violated trust.
“It’s essential to build a culture of trust where expectations are clear and the focus shifts from micromanagement to autonomy…showing (employees) they are respected and trusted…can lead to greater job satisfaction and increased productivity.”
They also advise focusing on work outcomes rather than how long an employee sits at a desk in the office, and prioritizing employee well-being over physical presence. “Culture isn’t dependent on a physical space — it’s built through shared values, open communication, and support,” Keenan concludes.5
Strengthen Team Bonds
Fully integrating remote employees into work teams can be challenging. Per Forbes, “More than two in five (44%) hybrid/in-office employees say they have a weaker relationship with remote colleagues. They are closer to the ones they see in the office.”1
And strong workplace relationships are important for team cohesion and collaboration. But there are ways to build those relationships that are less disruptive and risky than RTO mandates.
There are lots of ways to improve team cohesion in a hybrid work environment, from scheduling all-team meetings on core in-the-office days to free pizza lunches to using real-time collaboration tools like Slack, Google Chat, or Mattermost.
Team building activities are highly effective for building and strengthening team bonds. Virtual trivia contests like Best Corporate Feud and Classic Rewind Quiz Show as well as activities like a Virtual Murder Mystery are fun, develop team collaboration and problem-solving skills, and accommodate any type of workplace structure.
Even more powerfully, getting teams together in person for a charitable corporate social responsibility (CSR) event like a Wagon Build Donation, Putting for Pets, or a Mini-Golf Build and Food Donation creates impactful shared emotional memories and instills a sense of purpose while enhancing employee bonds and benefiting your local community.
Focus on Culture
Per Forbes, “Maintaining a strong company culture in a distributed work environment requires intentional effort. This might involve online (or in-person) team-building. It might include all-hands meetings. Or, it might involve making digital spaces for casual chat.
“Companies should focus on strengthening core values. They should also foster a sense of belonging that isn’t tied to physical proximity. Recognition programs, mentorship opportunities, and cross-functional projects can help build connections. They do so across different work modes.”1
Corporate team building activities support a culture of high performance while enhancing a sense of workplace community, employee happiness, and well-being.
Provide Flexibility
As we noted previously in our post on how to resolve the return-to-the-office dilemma, “In scanning the literature on return-to-the-office mandates, the word that appears more than any other is ‘flexibility’—followed closely by ‘hybrid.’ The best approach, from both employer and worker perspectives, is a mix of in-person and remote work for positions that permit it.”
The latest research continues to support this. Furthermore, while there’s no question many employees are resisting a full-time return to the office, that opposition is by no means universal.
Per the Business Journal, “New data from Resume Builder indicates 40% of full-time employees prefer working fully in-person, while 32% favor a hybrid-work model,” and just 28% want to work remotely full-time. Resume Builder chief career advisor Stacie Haller added, “’It’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer tenable in today’s diverse workforce landscape.’8
Forbes advises, “Offering hybrid options provides a middle ground that can satisfy both employer and employee needs.” Giving employees flexibility in terms of both what hours and which days to work “lets employees adjust schedules to personal needs but also ensures core hours when the team is available.”1
In addition, a recent “survey from Great Place to Work found that ‘mandates — whether for a return to the office, remote work, or a hybrid format — pose risks for employee retention, productivity, and more.’”2
Be Transparent
As Forbes suggests, “Transparency is key when implementing RTO policies. Organizations that clearly explain why they make decisions foster better collaboration, maintain company culture, and are better able to meet workers’ needs.
“Equally important is defining how the success of these policies will be measured.” And while remote monitoring is seen as micromanagement and demonstrating a lack of trust, a better approach to measurement “might include productivity metrics, employee satisfaction scores, or team collaboration indicators. Regular updates and open forums for feedback can help keep trust. They can also address concerns early.”1
Final Thoughts on RTO Mandates
The news has been filled in recent months with stories of major corporations, from Amazon and Dell to JPMorgan and even remote work technology developer Zoom, implementing RTO mandates.
But employees who’ve gotten used to the flexibility and autonomy of remote work are pushing back. The science behind the RTO trend is sketchy, and companies pushing too hard risk alienating and even losing top talent.
Leaders too often make RTO decisions based on unconscious biases and mistaken assumptions. Fortunately, leadership training can help uncover these biases and enable leaders to design better policies. And team building activities can help improve employee communication and collaboration regardless of workplace structure.
Sources:
- “How Return To Office Policies Are Impacting Employees In 2024,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/karadennison/2024/07/10/how-return-to-office-policies-are-impacting-employees-in-2024/
- “As Amazon tells staff to return to office, new survey says hybrid workers aren’t working,” The Hill, https://thehill.com/lobbying/4928869-as-amazon-tells-staff-to-return-to-office-new-survey-says-hybrid-workers-arent-working/
- “These major employers are making workers return to the office,” CBS News MoneyWatch, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-other-companies-return-to-office-mandate/
- “The Great Resistance: Getting employees back to the office,” Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/work/great-resistance-getting-employees-back-office
- “Why companies are ordering workers to return to the office,” Yahoo! Finance, https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/return-office-companies-mandates-work-home-050052468.html
- “What’s behind the return-to-office demands?,” ComputerWorld, https://www.computerworld.com/article/3535579/whats-behind-the-return-to-office-demands.html
- “It’s the ‘year of the mandate’ at offices, but hybrid and remote work aren’t dying,” CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/24/despite-more-return-to-office-mandates-hybrid-and-remote-arent-dying.html
- “Employee preferences on remote work are taking a surprising turn,” Tampa Business Journal, https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2024/05/03/return-office-hybrid-remote-work-employees.html
- “One top hybrid-work worry is coming to fruition,” Tampa Business Journal, https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2024/07/01/remote-hybrid-inperson-workers-professional-growth.html
- “Dell’s Sudden 5-day return-to-the-office order leaves parents scrambling to find childcare,” MSN, https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/dell-s-sudden-5-day-return-to-office-order-leaves-parents-scrambling-to-find-childcare/ar-AA1rX7Xa?ocid=nl_article_link
- “Survey Finds Employers with Return-to-Office Policies Will Pay New Hires More,” NJBIA, https://njbia.org/survey-finds-employers-with-return-to-office-policies-will-pay-new-hires-more/
