RTO mandates can cost you high performers: 3 ways to find balance

It seems like the war on RTO mandates are never-ending – and the longer they go on, the worse the consequences may be.

Despite many high-profile companies threatening employees who do not come back into the office, many workers are still pushing back on in-office work, creating a bigger divide between employees and employers. 

But new research from Gartner finds that RTO mandates aren’t just costing you employee satisfaction – they’re a real risk for high performers, particularly women and millennials. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

Who’s affected by RTO mandates

According to the Gartner survey – which included 2,080 knowledge workers – the intent to stay among average employees was 8% lower with strict RTO mandates.

“Mandated on-site requirements can carry very steep costs for talent attraction and retention,” Caitlin Duffy, director in the Gartner HR practice, said in the report. “Often these costs far outweigh the moderate benefits to employee engagement and effort.” 

When looking at high-performing employees, intent to stay was 16% lower with RTO mandates – double that of an average employee. Among millennials and women, the intent to stay was 10% and 11% lower, signaling that these employee groups place a higher value on flexibility than other groups surveyed, including Gen Z workers and managers. 

“High-performing employees are more easily able to pursue opportunities at organizations that offer hybrid or fully remote policies,” said Duffy. “Losing high performers to attrition costs organizations in terms of productivity, difficulty in backfilling the role, and the overall loss of high-quality talent available to fill critical positions.”

But resistance to RTO mandates for some employee groups is more complex than employees dreading the commute or the monotony of in-office work. According to Gartner, female employees say they prefer working remotely due to fewer encounters with microaggressions and biases.

Balancing C-suite and employee needs

Despite CEOs citing increased collaboration and morale when mandating RTOs, nearly half of employees (48%) say their company’s mandates prioritize what leaders want versus what employees need to do good work, according to previous Gartner research.

That puts HR pros in the middle of satisfying C-suite wants and prioritizing employee needs. So what should you do? 

Gartner offers a few ways to create an RTO policy that works for the whole organization. Here are a few tips:

• Motivate, don’t mandate: Employees may be more willing to return to the office if they have the autonomy to make the decision themselves. Revamp your office space, offer incentives and prioritize connection to help bring employees back. 
• Track per year, not per week: Organizations mandating a minimum number of in-office days per year saw greater employee performance than those mandating in-person days per week, according to Gartner, and
• Be transparent with employees: Employees may be more likely to comply with mandates when their organization gives them clear reasons for the change. According to Gartner, this can promote engagement and retention.