Return to office (RTO) mandates are everywhere, from JPMorgan to Instagram, to even small businesses across both the UK and globally.

You’ll seldom find a fully remote job any more.

Many observe that the power pendulum has swung back in favour of employers, or as Jasmine Escalera, a career expert said, ‘the era of employee leverage has ended’. With a deficit of jobs, and AI ripping seismic tears in the structure of firms as we know them, people are increasingly interested in simply just keeping their jobs (see job hugging).

That means there’s less bite back on changing the rules around benefits and, in this case, flexibility. A survey of 1,000 participants has found that only 7% of employees would quit their jobs over mandatory RTO policies, compared to 51% in January 2025 (Fortune).

So, more people back in the office, and less (or at least a less extreme) reaction to these policies. But that doesn’t mean they’re popular – for example a BambooHR surveyfound 52% of workers (in the US) preferred to work remotely (only 39% from the office).

But how is this translating into the culture of offices?

According to Gartnernearly three quarters of HR leaders say RTO mandates have caused tensions inside their organisations – there is a sense of injustice, or of something being taken away, or even perhaps, a sense of a lack of a trust.

Another interesting term coined by Korn Ferryis the ‘hybrid hierarchy’. This is where we’re seeing a higher percentage of people in more specialised roles (which are also often higher paid or top roles) having access to flexible working benefits as a perk. Effectively because they have more sway.

As put in the report: “Haves and Have-Nots will be divided not by economics, but by talent and how much the company wants them”.

However, this has the possibility of creating a real divide between workers, and a feeling of inequality. How can leaders expect colleagues to come into the office every day if they don’t? And is creating two classes of workers damaging to the culture – again effectively dividing them between ‘Haves and have-nots’?

Another point to consider is how companies are implementing RTO policies. With many companies having downsized offices to save on rental costs, there has been a failure to readjust this often before RTO mandates are declared.

Now 20% of employees do not have a dedicated workspace, and must hot desk (Forbes). This has doubled since 2020. It’s off putting for people to not have their own space, and a consistency to who their working around and with. If RTO’s aim is to firm up culture, productivity and collaboration, then issues such as these must be fixed. Another observation from many is that, even when in the office are still attending meetings online – there’s little change in how work communication is conducted, which must feel frustrating at times, and eat into the very benefits sought from RTO.

If you’re going all chips in on RTO, then it’s important to think about the ripple effect. The boost in productivity, in real conversations, in a sense of shared culture and purpose. This all needs to be built in to how your mandates work, so that people don’t feel hard done by.

Make sure to have a full understanding of the impact, from all sides of the coin, and have a plan on how you’re going to communicate any changes to your people. And it’s important to get it right.

Recently we helped a comms team to create a leadership video, from script to the end product to communicate their new RTO policy, and we can help you too. Get in touch.