We've all seen the recent wave of return to office (RTO) mandates — people have to come back to work or risk losing their jobs. While we agree there are many benefits to being together with your team in person, forcing RTO as a blanket solution for human connection is short-sighted.

Interestingly, some data points to heightened company success with less time in office, with one Stanford study showing hybrid options boost productivity, performance, and retention when compared to full-time, in-office work.

That got us thinking: Why the aggressive push toward RTO — and why the disconnect between the data and these mandates? What do we lose when we think of RTO in all-or-nothing terms?

Rethinking the RTO binary

A binary exists any time people fail to see there's a gray area, and that definitely applies to RTO. People either tend to view RTO as the "only" acceptable solution, or they think asking people to come back to work is totally unfair.

There are several reasons we think people fall into the RTO vs remote trap:

Nostalgia for the past

Lots of leaders feel a sense of loss about the way things used to be, especially pre-pandemic. However, there's no denying that people have fundamentally changed in the last five years. The office may be a source of comfort for some leaders, but not everyone holds that view.

Power dynamics

At its core, the RTO debate is about autonomy and control. When workers are in office, the employer is seen to have the power, while WFH arrangements give the employee more control. There's a lack of trust at play when you feel you have to have eyes on your team at all times or they won't get work done.

Concerns about overhead

There are practical financial considerations here, with some companies still owning or leasing office spaces that sit empty when people work remotely. The pressure to justify these commitments can drive RTO mandates as well.

5 things to consider before choosing RTO

We've worked with clients who work in-office, completely from home, or fall between those two options. We don't think there's a "best" way to do things that works for everyone. There are benefits to both approaches.

Before implementing a blanket RTO policy, consider the following:

Collaboration needs: Does your line of work call for regular, synchronous work or do you have teams that require alone time and periods of deep focus?
Talent and diversity pool: When you WFH, you can hire globally, which significantly expands your pool of candidates. Are there enough people to fill future positions in your geographic location?
Individual circumstances: The pandemic shifted how work fits into people's lives. If you have team members who are also caregivers, are differently abled, or live far from the office, RTO may not be the answer.
Financial impact: What are the costs associated with being in-office? Are you better off funneling that money into synergy-boosting initiatives like retreats or offsites (and still saving money in the end)?
Connection-building opportunities: Many times, RTO is seen as the way to foster organic, in-person connections for your team. However, there are other ways to accomplish that while still offering your team flexibility.

Brainstorm ways to achieve connection outside of RTO

If it's in-person connection that you're after, we get that. Nothing matches the alignment and collaboration that you get when you're face-to-face with colleagues. The key here is realizing that you can achieve that through things like retreats and team-building events — or even just coffee chats — while still working flexibly, if that's your goal.

We work with companies to move past the binary of RTO and find creative ways to generate synergy and creativity among teams. In our next post, we'll dive into how in-person retreats provide months of payoff and maximize the benefits of gathering in person.

In the meantime, if you want to chat about RTO, facilitating connections among your team, or anything else, get in touch!

LET'S TALK!