Across the country, employees are going back to the office.

Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom joined the return-to-office movement and ordered all 95,000 California state workers back to the office 4 days a week.

Employees generally aren’t thrilled about returning to the office. 74% of HRs cite these mandates as a source of conflict between workers and their employers, according to a 2024 study by Gartner.

Today, we’re breaking down the pros and cons of RTO mandates, how they could affect HRs, and how HR leaders can try to find common ground.

RTOs are often put in place to ensure productivity. However, the debate rages on about whether workers are actually less efficient at home.

A new study found that remote-only employees spend 31% of their time overutilized, and are also more focused than any other category of worker. The same study found that office-first employees have the most balanced utilization, leaving them less exposed to burnout.

According to this study, remote workers are actually more productive than their in-office counterparts. Still, some believe that remote work is too risky—without their manager’s watchful eye, employees could slack off.

Here are some potential benefits for those returning to the office:

• Increased collaboration: Employees heading back into the office will be able to collaborate more easily with their team members. Since working together is an important part of most jobs, this in-person collaborative time will likely benefit most employees.
• Learning opportunities: Especially for recent-grads starting their careers, the opportunity to learn increases when working in-person. Employees have the opportunity to learn from more senior members of their team while also gaining a sense of how an organization functions internally.
• Potential career advancement: Facetime is always important when it comes to earning promotions. Some employees may find the new RTO mandate helps them get a leg up in their career as they spend more time with the key decision-makers at their company.

Broadly speaking, return-to-work orders are unpopular among employees. However, there are some employees more likely to be impacted by RTO mandates.

• Women: Return to work orders have a disproportionate negative impact on women and mothers. Most working Americans who are providing care for a loved one are women—57% to men’s 44%, and women are still more likely to shoulder the burden of taking care of children. Remote work offers women the opportunity to work more flexible hours so they can be there for their families when they need to be.
• People of color: RTOs can also impact the POC population more negatively than other groups. Returning to in-person work could expose POC to subtle forms of racism as their physical appearance becomes more closely linked to their work performance. A study by Future Forum found that only 3% of Black white-collar workers wanted to return to the office (21% for white workers).
• High performers: High-performing employees will have options, and many prize the flexibility that comes from remote work. A Gartner study found that high-performing employees report a 16% lower intent to stay on in their role when faced with an RTO.

But return-to-work orders have impacts that stretch beyond specific employee categories. As more employees drive to work, these mandates can increase pollution, negatively affecting the environment.

Lastly, returning to work is expensive for employees. Transportation costs, lunches out, wear and tear on cars—it all adds up.

For HRs, navigating a mandated RTO can be a minefield.

Employees are likely to be disgruntled, and this can further erode trust between management and employees—which is already at an historic low.

If your company is considering an RTO, here’s what you’re likely to see:

• Talent exodus: High-performing talent will leave in higher numbers. RTO mandates might limit a company’s ability to retain its most talented team members.
• Cultural shift: If the RTO mandate is unpopular, employees will feel that leadership doesn’t care about what they value. As a result, company culture will start to sour. Motivating teams will become more difficult, and retention will dip as employees leave for other opportunities.
• Increased absences: Employees are more likely to take sick days and use days off when they’re required to go into the office. Colds that could have been managed in a remote setting will instead require employees to use their sick days. Days when an employee could have worked flexible hours to attend to personal matters (medical appointments, family crises, etc.) will now become full days taken off.

HRs trying to promote trust and understanding may find themselves struggling to guide management and employees toward common ground.

Here are a few tips on how to navigate an unpopular RTO mandate:

• Make the case with leadership: Leaders might not understand the potential negative implications of this decision. Let them know how retention and talent acquisition could be choked by their approach: they simply won’t be able to attract the best people with an in-office requirement. Here’s a cautionary tale: to enforce its RTO mandate, Dell told employees that in order to be promoted or apply to other positions within the company, they had to come back on-site. Anecdotally, 50% of employees refused to make the switch, effectively choosing remote work over career advancement.
• Track key metrics: If your company enforces an RTO mandate, track your metrics around retention and hiring. How many people leave? How many candidates apply to open roles? How many candidates drop out when they find out the role is in-person? It’s unlikely that people will come right out and say in an exit interview that they’re leaving because of the RTO, but you can ask if their new position will be remote. Track that metric.
• Find a happy medium: Okay, maybe “happy” is too strong a word. If your organization is set on having an in-person component to work, advocate for flexibility with that. Is it possible to try a hybrid structure as opposed to 5 days in office? Can you offer a bank of “flex” remote days each month so employees can work remotely if needed?

RTO mandates are tricky, but savvy HRs can help their organization and their employees come out the other side by understanding the potential positives, working to defang the negatives, communicating with leadership, and finding common ground.

The information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.