Is 2025 going to be the year that we stop hybrid working and go back to work full-time? Santander would have you believe so. PwC and Amazon, Lloyds Bank JP Morgan and WPP, all large companies, implemented Return-to-Office mandates in the past few months.
There are both proponents and opponents of RTO mandates. Proponents argue that it maintains workplace culture, while adherents claim it has little impact on productivity. What’s clear, however is that a major change following years of hybrid work will present challenges to any business.
It is expected that the return to full-time offices will present challenges for both employees and HR departments. The employees who are used to working remotely may experience stress, long commutes and rigid schedules. This could affect their job satisfaction and productivity. HR teams may also be stretched due to potential problems with talent retention and finding the “right” talent for their team.
Businesses will need to balance the benefits of enhanced collaboration and culture against the risk of employee dissatisfaction.
How RTO affects the working environment
RTO mandates are already causing a backlash. WPP’s new four-day office attendance policy sparked a massive backlash. Thousands of employees signed a letter urging the agency to reverse the policy. At Lloyds, employees who didn’t come to work were threatened with bonus reductions. This escalated tensions and fuelled resentment.
These policies can lead to a loss of morale, and may even cause retention problems as employees might seek out more flexible jobs elsewhere.
Flexibility is becoming more important to workers, and rigid policies can negatively impact employee satisfaction. The C-suite’s willingness to accept risk in such situations often sets the tone of the company culture. It can influence everything from hiring to day-today operations.
Flexible leaders who pay attention to the needs of their employees can create a positive working environment that will enhance talent retention as well as hiring practices. Inflexible policies, such as RTO, can create barriers and alienate potential candidates. They also undermine accessibility.
Business leaders’ attitudes towards risk must change to reflect the reality that sustainable growth is not achieved by avoiding risks but rather taking the right types of risks. Leaders in the C-suite who place a high priority on openness and thoroughness when recruiting signal a healthy attitude to critical business risks. This mindset builds a solid foundation for growth and the digital transformation of the company, positioning it for long-term successes.
This shift is not just a result of the market, but also in response to the changing regulatory environment and the hybridization and globalization of the workforce. Organisations must safeguard their most important asset as the nature of work changes: their employees.
The HR team is under pressure
HR teams must navigate employee resistance, competing preferences and different levels of readiness to return to their physical workspaces to manage this transition. It is not just a problem for current employees, but it also makes it difficult to attract new talent.
On a highly competitive labor market it may be difficult for organisations to find candidates willing to commit fully to on-site work. HR must emphasize the importance of office culture, career opportunities, and an environment that is supportive to attract top talent.
HR professionals are also tasked with handling logistical issues such as office space management, safety protocol, and hybrid models, while maintaining the company culture and employee engagement.
It will take empathy, flexibility and strategic vision to balance business needs with employee happiness.
The future is in technology
While smaller companies can easily create a feeling of success and trust among their employees, larger organizations must communicate clearly the RTO expectations at the beginning of the hiring process. The biggest challenge for large organizations is finding the right candidates.
The right technology and good hiring practices need to be integrated into the recruiting system so that managers can feel confident about candidates’ ability to meet RTO mandates from the moment the candidate crosses the threshold of the company.
The hiring practices of HR teams must be adapted to the hybrid and remote working models. They also need to adapt their recruitment processes in order for them not only keep up with AI but also navigate its rise. It is becoming increasingly difficult for HR to decide if the candidate is a fit or if they are being transparent with their application. To overcome these obstacles, larger companies should use the right technology and employ transparent hiring practices.
By automating background checks for HR teams, they can speed up processes and improve the productivity of HR staff as time spent manually checking could be cut in half. Automation in HR can help businesses emulate the trust and loyalty that are typically found in smaller companies while also building a workforce aligned to the long-term goals of the company.
It allows HR teams to confidently evaluate candidates, while ensuring efficiency and minimising disruptions for both candidates and employers.
