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How are those ‘return-to-office (RTO) mandates’ working out?

Written by Neil Hallam | 29-Jul-2025 08:30:00

The tide has turned. RTO mandates are on the rise, but do they do more harm than good? We’ve looked at the latest data to find out what’s really happening.

Prior to the pandemic, remote and hybrid work in the UK was a nascent trend, far from mainstream adoption. Before 2020, less than 5% of UK employees worked mainly from home, a figure that had only increased by 3% over the preceding four decades.

Then the pandemic happened and disrupted traditional working models. It compressed decades of potential evolution into hybrid working practices into the space of a few years.

UK working patterns: Pre-pandemic vs. Post-pandemic

Sources: 1. ONS, 2. OJS, 3. Flex OS, 4. Owl Labs

Following the end of the pandemic, the trend seemed unstoppable. By late January 2023, more than one in five businesses in the UK reported either using or intending to include home-working as a permanent business model.  

Meanwhile, in 2024, according to one study, 51% of knowledge workers now describe themselves as hybrid.

What does hybrid and remote working do for productivity?

Research from the Office of National Statistics says hybrid working since the pandemic is having a positive effect on productivity:

And an even stronger effect on worker retention:

Return to the office mandates are on the rise

But despite the reported benefits and widespread adoption of flexible working models, 2025 has been hailed as "the year of the return to the office".

CEOs from companies like Amazon, JPMorgan, and Dell are doubling down on face-to-face time - citing its transformative effect on culture, collaboration, and innovation.

“Our culture is unique, and has been one of the most critical parts of our success in our first 29 years. But, keeping your culture strong is not a birthright. You have to work at it all the time... When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant." 

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon (Source: About Amazon)

Others have pointed out how hard it’s been to bring a new generation of workers up to speed in a remote working culture and its threat to the discovery and nurture of talent long term.

“Working from home has 'damaged' young employees by limiting their exposure to workplace interactions that aid career growth.”

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, addressing concerns over remote work's impact on employee development (Source: News.com.au)

How the tide has turned

Leaders are increasingly putting their foot down when it comes to flexible working. Many are requiring a complete return to 5-day-a-week attendance in the office.

A recent KPMG CEO Outlook report revealed that 83% of global CEOs now expect a full return to the office by 2027, while nearly 9 in 10 said they would reward employees who comply with RTO mandates (Source: Owl Labs’ State of Hybrid Work 2024)

But this top-down push is creating a significant perception gap:

  • 66% of employees believe RTO policies are based on outdated norms - not business need.
  • 45% suspect the real driver is to justify costly real estate commitments.

RTO mandates meet resistance

The latest data from King's College London's 'Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes UK' reveals a sharp decline in workers willingness to comply with a five-day-a-week office policy, dropping from 54% in 2022 to just 42% in 2024. 

This indicates a hardening of employee resolve against rigid office requirements and a threat to businesses who may insist on a complete return. This study also shows impact of RTO mandates on specific demographics and future diversity in our businesses:

Source: Kings College London, Return-to-office mandates: What is at stake for workers, companies, and gender equality?

RTO isn’t doing much for productivity

Meanwhile, a major 2024 study from the University of Pittsburgh has cast serious doubt on the effectiveness of RTO mandates.

Analysing hundreds of thousands of employee reviews from S&P 500 firms, the researchers found that job satisfaction dropped significantly after companies enforced RTO policies - as did perceptions of work-life balance, senior leadership, and company culture. 

Crucially, these declines in morale weren’t matched by any improvement in business outcomes. In fact, the study found no measurable gains in profitability, market value, or stock performance. 

It seems, while RTO is often justified as a way to rebuild connection, the evidence points to the opposite: it’s weakening employee engagement without delivering the promised business results.

“These findings reveal a notable deterioration in job satisfaction, work-life balance, and perceptions of senior management post-RTO implementation. They challenge the conventional wisdom that RTO enhances collaboration and company culture, instead showing that such mandates can detrimentally affect employee morale and organisational harmony." 

 Professor Mark Ma, University of Pittsburgh (Source: Psychology Today)

We can’t go back!

Pulling back on flexible working altogether isn’t the answer. A blanket five-day-in-the-office mandate no longer reflects how people work best - nor is it what they want. 

The data is clear: rigid RTO policies hurt morale, don't boost productivity, and alienate the very people businesses are trying to retain.

But that doesn’t mean the office is obsolete. Far from it.

We’ve got to go back!

There are many compelling reasons to bring people back together more often, especially in a time of seismic change. 

And one of the biggest changes in the history of employment is happening before our very eyes. 

The ascent of AI

With the rise of AI, jobs are being eliminated and created. Many businesses are in a state of denial and disarray as they grapple with the tech. Entry-level jobs are being lost - meaning the talent of the future is not being nurtured. 

In this context  businesses have got to come together to discuss and learn this new technology.

Not in silos. Not in panic. But side-by-side.

Back together – but not backwards

If we’re to harness the true power of presence, we need to make being together meaningful, not mandatory. That means fostering environments where people gather not out of obligation, but out of opportunity: to learn, to co-create, to grow. 

It means designing offices set up for learning and knowledge sharing.  

Read our blog on supporting active learning in the workplace.

But we can’t go back on our commitment to supporting hybrid working.  Instead, our offices need to braid physical and virtual experiences so that our collaboration can continue to cross boundaries. 

For more ideas on bridging the digital divide, explore our guide to hybrid workplace design.

Ocular: digital hybrid solutions from Steelcase

As we face new business challenges, we'll also need to collaborate with a broader spectrum of talent than ever before. This must include neurodivergent people who find typical office environments hard to adjust to.

Paradoxically, perhaps, the future of successful teamwork lies in flexible spaces where individuals can gather together AND find more independence. 

For more insight on this topic, explore our guide to designing for neurodiversity in the workplace.

Where next?

At IE we believe the future of work isn’t binary. It’s not remote or in-person. It’s not quiet or collaborative. It’s all of it -  at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons.

And the office, if reimagined with intention and imagination, can be a powerful catalyst for this next chapter. A place, not of presenteeism, but of purpose. A hub for mentoring, innovation, and shared learning - especially as we face the disruption of an AI powered future.

We don’t need to go back to what was. We need to move forward to what’s possible.

Talk to the experts at IE about workplace design in a changing world.