What’s Really Behind the RTO Battle? 5 Ways to Make Peace

What’s really behind the RTO battle?

Could it be personal freedom vs. corporate control? Autonomy vs. micromanagement? The C-suite vs. the front line?

Depends on what side you ask, but most people will agree: There’s no defined answer … yet.

How Bad is the RTO Battle?

First things first: The return-to-office battle may not be as bad as the mainstream media headlines make it seem.

Despite the calls for a full-blown RTO at recognizable companies such as Amazon and Dell, the Bureau of Labor’s jobs report showed a year-over-year increase in the number of people who work from home part- or full-time. More specifically, almost 23% of employees worked remotely at least part of the time late in 2024 — a slight year-over-year increase.

But here’s the thing: Most people are comfortable in the work situation they have, especially if it’s remote or hybrid. So any mention of an RTO, and they grow concerned. Mention an RTO mandate and ire arises.

Why?

The Deepest RTO Divide

“What’s really driving the growing disconnect between employers and employees: a battle over freedom vs. control,” says Jennifer Moss, author of Why Are We Here?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants. “Freedom is so fundamentally important to humans, when it’s taken away, research finds that it can lead to stress, anxiety, and feelings of confinement, frustration and powerlessness.”

So the quest for more freedom could be the deepest issue in the RTO battle. But it doesn’t have to be a long battle. Leaders and employees can find common ground — a place where companies, people and productivity thrive.

You want to find it before things get worse. Gallup recently uncovered the Great Detachment: Employees feel more disconnected from their jobs, colleagues and meaning in their work. Remote work can increase that — after all, people aren’t physically together. Or it might counter it — people are more engaged when they have flexibility.

“We need to make the experience of being in person matter,” says Moss. “The biggest complaints I hear today on this topic are: A) people feel like remote work was working — so why fix it? And B) the office ends up being a place people go where they end up doing exactly what they could be doing at home — but with a commute and having to pay for parking.”

To counter those issues, here are five ways companies and employees can make peace with RTO plans.

Find Out What Matters

By now, you likely know if your employees hate the idea of an RTO. And if you don’t know, it’s time to ask what they think. Then listen.

“Empathy is to listen. Compassion is to take action what we hear,” says Moss. “Find out what would make coming back in to the office worthwhile and try to come up with strategies that meet your employees half-way.”

Employees will likely give you some ideas, but some things you might consider: Paid parking. On-site work during core hours such as 10-3 to avoid a difficult commute. On-site services such as dry-cleaning pick-up and car detailing. Caregiver services.

Make Office Time Matter

As Moss said, if the office is mandatory, time there needs to be worthwhile. And employees can more likely accept change when they’re part of making that happen.

“Meeting face-to-face is valuable,” says Moss. “Employers need to do better with how they utilize the space and ensure time is given for their people to truly engage with each other. Have fun. Bring some levity back. Reinforce eating and meeting together. Bring back rituals … It should be hyper-focused on building team cohesion and connecting people across the org.”

Get employees involved in decisions on when, where and how you’ll meet. Find out the rituals they love and bring those back. Start to focus more on outcomes, less on who’s coming in and when.

Look at, Respond to Changes in Work

No one can deny that work and life have changed since the pandemic. Meeting people where they are mentally will help in the transition back to the office.

“Leaders need to investigate the behavioral shifts that are underpinning why work isn’t working today,” says Moss. “I continue to witness leaders using old frameworks to solve new and unprecedented problems. And those responses are failing. We need to rethink all of our strategic formulas if we really want to solve this massively growing gap between employers, leaders and their teams.”

Talk with employees about the fears they have about coming back to the office. For many, it may be a fear of losing time and control over their personal lives — and that’s something you can help them navigate. But some may have social anxiety, and there are different ways — hopefully through your mental well-being benefits — to help with that.

Rethink Offices as ‘Third Spaces’

This is a logistics solution. Moss suggests companies consider redesigning offices as “third spaces” to pull people back in, rather than pushing them back with RTO mandates.

Third spaces are more social than traditional offices. They’re spaces that create more intimacy than offices do, but are separate from home. They help people socialize, connect and build community. Employees can interact with those they know and make new connections.

No, you don’t have to turn the office into a park or cafe. But you might want to add more open, social spaces — and get rid of some cubicles and offices — to allow for third spaces.

Help Employees Get Aligned

Some employees who have spent time working hybrid and remote have reevaluated their priorities. From the pandemic and war to inflation and shifting political environments, people have experienced “a collective existential crisis,” says Moss.

While they don’t necessarily want to work less, they want to work right. To uncover what’s right, Moss suggests HR or managers work with employees to ensure they are aligned. Some prompting questions:

• Does this job align with my life’s goals?
• Do I feel engagement, or mostly anxiety or burnout?
• Is my work meaningful?
• Why am I here?