Return To Office: Pros, Cons, And Tips For Success

PWC recently announced that in January 2025 it will start monitoring where employees are working from. The reason, it’s thought but not officially confirmed, is to ensure compliance with their 3-in-office-days-a-week RTO policy.

It’s a similar story in other organizations like Dell and EY who are using swipe badges to track in-office hours and reprimand workers who aren’t meeting their obligations.

Bottom line is that, in many instances, workers are dragging their heels regarding returning to the office. Some even go in but only stay for a short period, a practice referred to as “coffee badging”.

It’s clear workers aren’t delighted about being forced to go back, but many organizations—especially big corporates—are demanding it anyway.

So what’s to be done? What are the potential benefits and challenges of workers returning to the office and how can RTO be implemented successfully?

What Does The Return To Office Look Like Today?

It’s been a few years since the pandemic necessitated remote working and we’ve seen a fair few organizations go back on their word regarding this option.

According to a Gallup hybrid work report, published in May 2024, 27% of organizations are now remote working, 53% hybrid, and 21% fully on-site.

As you can see from the graph below, more organizations are demanding workers to be back in the office in a hybrid model. Further, a recent KPMG survey of 1,500 CEOs found that 64% of them predict a full return to office by 2026. 

The question is, why?

Potential Benefits Of Returning To The Office

Organizations sure are keen on workers returning to the office, citing increased collaboration and a stronger culture as primary reasons. 

But are these claims substantiated? What does the research say about the potential benefits of workers returning to the office?

Enhanced cross-disciplinary collaboration

• MIT Study: A study from MIT found that academics working in close proximity boosted cross-disciplinary research on papers and patents.
• Stanford University study: Research from Stanford University found that, while remote work can increase productivity for some tasks, it can reduce collaboration and innovation compared to in-office work where spontaneous conversations occur more easily.
• University of Chicago: Research from UoC found that employees narrowed their spheres of communication and interacted with fewer people and business units, both inside and outside the firm.

Better meetings for large groups

• CEPR: Research from CEPR found that, by and large, remote working is reported to be very efficient for small team sizes, whereas face-to-face meetings are better for large groups of people.
• MRFR analysis: The meeting room booking software market industry is expected to grow from $1.1(USD Billion) in 2023 to $2.51 (USD Billion) by 2032, showing that more people are expected to organize in-person, together.

Younger workers value some in-person time

• Seramount: Recent research by Seramount found that 74% of Gen Z respondents prefer some type of hybrid work arrangement vs  52% of all other employee demographics. Just 11% of Gen Z respondents preferred to be fully remote compared with 34 percent of other workers.

Increased mentoring opportunities

• Working From Home (WFH) Research Project: A study done by the Working From Home (WFH) Research Project found that in-office employees spend nearly 40% more time mentoring team members than those who work from home.

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Stronger connections

• Atlassian: ​​Teams at Atlassian meet at one of their offices about three times per year to bond and advance important projects. Their research shows that these intentional team gatherings lead to a 27% increase in feelings of connection, especially among new graduates and new hires, and that this boost lasts for ~4-5 months.

Challenges Of Returning To The Office

On the flipside, what are the potential challenges of implementing RTO?

Worker disgruntlement

• Loss of flexibility: Many people have grown accustomed to the flexibility of remote work. According to research from FlexJobs, 95% of workers want some form of remote work.
• Commuting: Another survey by FlexJobs found that 79% of respondents considered avoiding the commute as the top reason for preferring remote work.

Reduced productivity for some workers

• In-office distractions: Not all employees work better in office environments. Some employees may find office distractions (e.g., noise, frequent interruptions). Research from Pew found that 56% of workers say WFH helps them get their work done and meet deadlines.

Legal challenges

• Lawsuits: Employees who were hired as fully remote workers may be entitled to sue if terminated due to refusal to return to the office. The viability of an employee’s claim hinges on whether they can be fired at-will or for-cause.
• Remote work protections: In some jurisdictions, employees may have legal protections that support their right to continue remote work under certain conditions. For example, in countries like Germany, there are regulations that protect employees from being forced back to the office unless the employer can demonstrate a compelling business need.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Under the ADA in the U.S., employees with health conditions that put them at higher risk from COVID-19 or other health concerns may request reasonable accommodations to continue working remotely.

Rise in people-related issues

• Increase conflict: In researching his article on RTO collaboration vs conflict, Gleb Tsipursky found that 57% of respondents reported experiencing more people-related issues while working in the office. In contrast, only 12% indicated a higher occurrence of such issues while working remotely.

Different Return-To-Office Policies

So, if you’re considering implementing RTO, what are your options?

Optional RTO

Optional RTO allows employees to choose whether to work from the office or remotely, offering maximum flexibility. Some people may choose to come in every day, some once or twice a week, or some rarely.

Potential benefits include employee retention, recruitment, and productivity

Hybrid model

Employees are mandated to come in a set number of days per week. There is still the option to offer some flexibility here e.g. how many days, which days, or for how long each day.

Potential benefits include greater cross-discipline collaboration and stronger team bonds.

Full-Time RTO

All employees are required to return to the office full-time, with few exceptions. Honestly, looking at the research and talking to real people, I’m not sure what the potential benefits are over hybrid except perhaps greater control over how people spend their time in office. A nice way to say it would be having full visibility into what people are doing at all times (not an environment this editor would like to work in).

6 Tips For A Successful Return To Office Strategy

Follow these best practices for RTO to have the impact you want it to:

1. Communicate clearly and transparently

There should be little ambiguity regarding the RTO plan. This means providing detailed information including timelines, schedules, and expectations.

Additionally, it’s important to be transparent about the reasons behind the decision. As Matt Erhard, Managing Partner at Summit Search Group, highlights “The first thing you should do, before you start to craft your RTO policy, is clarify specifically why you want to bring employees back to the office.

The reason for this is two-fold. First, workers will be more likely to understand and accept the return to office mandate if it is backed by clear reasoning—and, going along with this, if you share that reasoning and the "why" behind your decision with them.

The second reason is that it’s critical for maintaining employee engagement through this transition and crafting your policy in such a way that these stated goals aren’t just met, but are the core focus of the changes.

For example, if you say you’re bringing people back to the office so they can better collaborate, then your RTO plan should make sure team members who work together on projects are in the office at the same time.

If you don’t show how being in the office will work toward your goals for the mandate, then your reasoning will come across as an empty, disingenuous excuse to employees, and you will likely lose some team members as a result.”

Another tip is to give employees ample time to adjust to the new requirements, especially if they need to make personal arrangements, such as childcare or transportation. Amazon, for example, has at least given workers a full 3 months to plan for a full-time RTO.

2. Foster open dialogue and feedback

Create employee listening channels like employee survey software for employees to express their concerns or preferences regarding the return to the office.

For example, American Express relied heavily on employee surveys to design and refine its hybrid Amex Flex program.

3. Support transition and adjustment

As Gleb Turpinsky discovered, some people have forgotten what it's like to work in an office, and some young workers might never have!

This is why it’s wise to offer resources or training to help employees readjust to the office environment, such as workshops on time management or re-establishing in-person communication skills, conflict resolution, and employee relations.

If you’ve hired employees remotely, consider a special onboarding program using onboarding software to help them acclimate to the office culture and environment.

Some organizations also offer fringe benefits like parking and public transport expenses that help employees offset the costs of commuting to and from work.

Plus, office management systems allow companies to maintain safe work environments while accommodating the return of in-office staff.

4. Lead by example

As ever, leaders need to lead by example regarding RTO. This means ensuring that leadership is also present in the office, setting an example for the rest of the organization.

Additionally, it’s important that all leaders and managers are aligned in their messaging about the return to the office, providing a unified front.

5. Consider individual needs and situations

With potential legal ramifications in mind, recognize that some employees may have valid reasons for preferring or needing to continue working remotely (e.g., health issues, caregiving responsibilities).

Tailor your approach based on the roles and responsibilities of different teams or individuals. For example, roles that balance deep focus and collaboration might benefit from continued flexibility. 

As Gevorg Nazaryan, CTO and Co-founder of Docus, highlights “We’ve found that in-office attendance for critical and collaborative activities such as product design sprints is necessary and nothing else. Otherwise, digital tools are used to connect with the global team.”

6. Upgrade the office

To make the best use of office space and potentially save on real estate costs, some organizations implement hotdesking or hoteling to encourage. 

These make use of hot desking booking software or office space management software to provide workers with flexibility regarding where they work in the office.

Like effective ROT policies, effective office space planning focused on worker and organizational needs.

For example, architecture firm HUB used employee feedback and office usage data to design new hybrid offices with the right blend of workspaces in alignment with their design process.

Editor’s Take

I can see some benefits in a hybrid model, but a highly flexible one. As a 90% remote worker, the occasional in-person time is useful for sparking conversations with colleagues from different teams, working through meaty projects, and forming bonds. I know from talking to colleagues that they feel the same as well.

Additionally, being in an office helps with social isolation, taking breaks, and creating boundaries between personal and professional life. For these reasons, some of my colleagues that can go into the office do so almost every day.

Personally, I find a short commute, preferably a 20-30 min walk or cycle, can be quite nice and helps separate work and personal life.

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