In an about face following the pandemic's shift to remote work, organizations across industries have begun mandating a return to the office (RTO) for desk workers. Their rationale is, partially, a reaction to anxiety over staff productivity. The trend to RTO is also rooted in traditional beliefs around how and where impromptu or formal interaction between coworkers must occur to cultivate collaboration. Some form of RTO is probably a good thing, but employers need to know that technology today can facilitate high-quality work-related togetherness online to ease the pressure they may sense to mandate rigid RTO as the necessary solution to promote competitiveness.

RTO: the Myth, the Legend

Returning to the office was a thing a long time ago for front-line employees at restaurants and elsewhere in the leisure industry. So, too, it was for construction workers and power company field staff. For still others, workable hybrid arrangements have emerged. Think healthcare professionals. With telehealth, some work can be completed from home, whereas other aspects of the job must be done in person.

As for the large contingent of desk workers who absolutely can do their jobs from a home office, they like work from home (WFH) and think they're good at it. Sixty-nine percent believe they are more productive working from home than from their employer's office, according to an Owl Labs report titled State of Hybrid Work 2023, which finds, additionally, that 30 percent believe themselves to be equally productive in either environment.

Sixty-nine percent (of desk workers) believe they are more productive working from home than from their employer's office…

All this aligns with isolved's own findings of late. According to the latest Voice of the Workforce Report from isolved, 43 percent of 1,100 full-time employees surveyed industrywide say they are more productive when they work remotely. As for their effectiveness on the job, 65 percent say they are the same or more engaged when they work remotely, and 27 percent say they have the same level of productivity.

These survey results aren't exactly a ringing endorsement of return to the office hardliners. If anything, research predating the pandemic isn't, either. “There is almost no data whatsoever,” says Harvard Business School Associate Professor of Business Administration Ethan Bernstein in a The New York Times article from July 2021 republished in The Seattle Times and titled, "Do chance meetings at the office boost innovation? There's no evidence of it". The hard evidence is lacking that a company's competitiveness and ability to innovate and collaborate hinge on desk workers' in-person proximity. What evidence there is suggests the opposite. Reported in a Harvard Business Review article titled, “The Truth About Open Offices” a study that Berstein helped conduct found the open-concept office designs prevalent today dissuade in-person interaction, with the drop being 70 percent when compared to more traditional office architecture.

Companies determined to enact one-size-fits-all RTO policies may throw significant capital into redoing their commercial real estate floor plans. Or they might consider a more balanced approach.

Helping Employees Be as Productive as They Can Be

Women in the workforce - here's an excellent place to discuss this need for balance. Of the approximately 28 million small- and medium-sized businesses in the United States, 39 percent were women-owned in 2021, according to this report by the United States International Trade Commission. As for female employees, about 80 percent of them today “want to be promoted to the next level.” Compared to the year preceding the pandemic, 2019, this is an approximately 15 percent increase in ambition, finds McKinsey's Women in the Workplace 2023 report - which also notes that “overall, one in five women say flexibility has helped them stay in their job or avoid reducing their hours.”

Put starkly, one-size-fits-all RTO runs a great risk of robbing employers of career-minded women. During the throes of COVID-19, women dropped out of the workforce at a high rate, and their challenges persist despite their labor participation rate returning to pre-pandemic levels in January 2023, according to Fact Sheet: The State of Women in the Labor Market 2023, a report by the Center for American Progress). Women are five to eight times “more likely than men to have their employment affected by caregiver responsibilities,” this report notes.

Acknowledging Employees' Challenges

Regardless of gender or home situations, plenty of other challenges affect every employee expected to commute to work. These challenges are daunting enough that, presumably, they're part of the rationale driving 62 percent of workers to admit that they'd be willing to be paid 10 percent less in exchange for flexibility in where they do their work, Owl Labs' survey finds - and 25 percent would be willing to do with 15 percent less in annual salary.

...62 percent of workers to admit that they'd be willing to be paid 10 percent less in exchange for flexibility in where they do their work, Owl Labs' survey finds - and 25 percent would be willing to do with 15 percent less in annual salary.

Commuting is not ideal - not just from the time lost and, for many, mental energy expended, but also in the costs associated with transportation and spending the day away from home. The global pandemic caused many a desk worker to question accepting these realities as necessary, and many now view the price tag of RTO as a bargaining chip. As Owl Labs also finds, nearly 40 percent of current hybrid workers say they'd be more willing to RTO if their employer were to pick up the tab for the commute. Another 28 percent would consider RTO if the employer subsidized or provided on-site alternatives for childcare or eldercare. “The yearly costs of childcare, commuting, and lunch add up to $1.4 trillion,” notes an article in Fortune titled, "Workers have a $1.4 trillion message for the Fortune 500: We'll return to office if you pay for the commute, childcare, and lunch and coffee too".

As Owl Labs also finds, nearly 40 percent of current hybrid workers say they'd be more willing to RTO if their employer were to pick up the tab for the commute. Another 28 percent would consider RTO if the employer subsidized or provided on-site alternatives for childcare or eldercare.

We Have the Technology

It's a lot of money, and RTO hardliners may want to rethink their own demands given the specious premise that in-person working environments for desk workers necessarily produce better outcomes. RTO is not a one-size-fits-all approach. What's needed, instead, is flexibility. And flexibility is what the world of work has today. With modern business software, an organization can employ an engaged, productive workforce without mandating all-or-nothing RTO. With well-thought-out plans, companies today can safely opt for flexible working arrangements.

RTO is not a one-size-fits-all approach. What's needed, instead, is flexibility. And flexibility is what the world of work has today.

First, employers need a video conferencing solution. They'll find one. Next, a capable cloud-based platform for human capital management (HCM) is indispensable. To support remote staff meaningfully, it doesn't need all the bells and whistles. It just needs to be well-sorted, well-functioning in giving employees useful remote access to the basics of their employment. These should also be straightforward for administrators to manage online.

Beyond the basics is where modern HCM software in the cloud really begins to hook up and put power to the ground in helping employers support balanced RTO. Let's say, for example, a company is thinking about mandating RTO, but leaders have the presence of mind to learn whether their hunches are well-founded. With modern HCM, easy-to-distribute pulse surveys collect real-time information on employees' level of engagement. A pulse survey will provide insight into whether RTO makes sense.

Let's say, for example, a company is thinking about mandating RTO, but leaders have the presence of mind to learn whether their hunches are well-founded. With modern HCM, easy-to-distribute pulse surveys collect real-time information on employees' level of engagement. A pulse survey will provide insight into whether RTO makes sense.

Then there's modern talent management, a company's horsepower at the wheels. The sophistication of modern HCM software catalyzes communication between managers and their direct reports. It captures these conversations for posterity and interprets their meaning. Artificial intelligence produces predictive insights to improve organizational competitiveness. None of this interactivity requires RTO. Add hyper-personalization in career development, and it's difficult to see how flexible work arrangements would impede success.

A Balanced Approach to RTO: Paying Dividends

With the labor market loosening, we hear the pendulum is swinging in favor of employers in the eternal power struggle between them and the workforce. Any employer that thinks this means they may mandate rigid RTO is mistaken, however: isolved's same Voice of the Workforce Report finds 44 percent of workers saying the biggest factor motivating them to accept a job offer is flexibility for remote and hybrid work and 33 percent specifically saying employers should compromise with hybrid work policies. Organizations that want their staff to be as effective as possible will instead embrace new cultural traits and invest in tools making it possible for employees to work under conditions they find most workable. Staff will return the courtesy with their best work.