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Across the country, employers and employees are engaged in a tug-of-war over return-to-office mandates. Companies\u2019 tolerance for the pandemic-era days of working from home has waned, with businesses from the New York Times to Microsoft calling for in-office attendance the majority of the week.<\/p>\n
The problem? Workers are resisting. According to the Wall Street Journal, RTO mandates have had little effect on actual attendance, with many simply opting out. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more pressing things for companies to be worrying about right now,\u201d Beth Steinberg, a tech-industry human-resources executive, told the paper.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the thing: Employers should care if their employees want to be in the office. Moreover, if getting them to do it is harder than dragging a stubborn mule up a hill, then maybe the problem isn\u2019t the workers. Going to work in an office shouldn\u2019t feel like a punishment; at its best, it should feel like a community. The real question leaders should be asking isn\u2019t how to enforce attendance, but why people would want to show up in the first place.<\/p>\n
On the surface, an RTO mandate looks easy enough: Tell employees they need to come back, and they will. The reality is not so simple. Many no longer want a starring role in what\u2019s known as \u201cproductivity theater,\u201d in which the appearance of putting in effort is prized more than actual accomplishments.<\/p>\n
RTO detractors are also quick to point to data that shows the benefits of working from home \u2014 one study found that 61% of employees report having higher levels of productivity at home, to say nothing of the time gained from commuting, avoiding office chit chat and purportedly improved work-life balance.<\/p>\n
But the truth is, heavy-handed policies erode trust. RTO mandates aren\u2019t a conversation; they are orders, with a clear underlying message: Leadership doesn\u2019t believe employees can be productive without being physically observed. That lack of autonomy chips away at morale and wreaks havoc on engagement and loyalty. Rather than fostering collaboration, a mandate can leave workers feeling micromanaged and undervalued.<\/p>\n
Judging by the above, you may think I\u2019m a WFH evangelist. Actually, I\u2019m not. At Jotform, we returned to office life as soon as it was safe to do so after pandemic restrictions were lifted. But calling my employees back to the office wasn\u2019t a decision I made because I didn\u2019t think I could trust them, or wanted to micromanage their daily activities.<\/p>\n
Quite the opposite: In discussions with my teams, I learned they actually missed collaborating with their colleagues face-to-face, and were less productive and more isolated at home. Jotform uses a system of small, cross-functional teams, where lively brainstorming sessions have produced some of our most successful ideas. Our weekly demo days push teams to innovate on tight deadlines, and so much momentum was lost when dealing with WFH hurdles like fuzzy connections or barking dogs. I\u2019m not saying everyone was chomping at the bit to get back to the office, but once they did, the difference was obvious: productivity surged, morale lifted and collaboration flourished in ways that simply hadn\u2019t been possible on Zoom.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the point that too many leaders miss. People don\u2019t reject the office because they dislike working; they reject the office when it adds no value to their work or lives. If the trade-off for a long commute is fluorescent lighting, endless dull meetings and little autonomy, of course, they\u2019ll resist. But when the office amplifies what can\u2019t be replicated remotely \u2014 true collaboration, mentoring and a sense of shared purpose \u2014 it becomes worth the trip.<\/p>\n
Mandates may be failing, but the alternative shouldn\u2019t be to give up on in-person work altogether. Instead, it\u2019s to redesign the office experience so employees genuinely want to be there.<\/p>\n
First off, in-person days should have a clear purpose. Employees shouldn\u2019t be asked to commute just to sit on video calls they could have joined from their living rooms. Even if you don\u2019t have cross-functional teams, leaders can still anchor attendance around events like product demos and mentoring sessions \u2014 the types of experiences that lose their luster when done through a screen.<\/p>\n
Community matters, too. While not everyone loves water cooler chitchat, culture thrives in small, unplanned moments. It can be something as simple as asking a colleague for quick feedback on a draft, or grabbing a cup of coffee after a meeting. These aren\u2019t the sorts of interactions that can be dictated from the top down, but they can flourish in an environment that promotes camaraderie. If dragging employees back to the office is like pulling teeth, it pays to find out what your employees need. Test, iterate and adapt \u2014 the same way you would with any product.<\/p>\n
The old adage that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar applies here, too. Rather than issuing mandates and threats, make the office a place where people are inspired to do their best work.<\/p>\n
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