RTO Needs A Heavy Injection of Honesty

RTO Needs A Heavy Injection of Honesty

The call to Return to Office (RTO) has become a global initiative. Based on available research, the RTO rate in the Asia-Pacific and European regions is about 70%, while North America lags at roughly 50%. This variation likely stems from regional cultural norms, industry types, and management approaches, among other factors. Nonetheless, a consistent theme emerges: senior management often frames RTO as a way to improve collaboration.

However, when observing office environments closely, the reality appears different. In my own observations, after spending multiple days observing employees across various departments, I noticed two common behaviors.

Firstly, many employees sit at their desks participating in web conference calls, relying on tools like Zoom and Teams. The collaboration is indeed happening, but not as senior management envisioned—it’s virtual and siloed. Secondly, I noticed a significant number of employees at their desks using personal devices or headphones, often listening to music or podcasts to filter out office noise. Again, signs of in-person collaboration were rare.

This trend isn’t surprising. Office environments were already changing pre-2020, with digital tools like Zoom, Slack, and Teams making remote communication efficient. The pandemic merely accelerated this shift, demonstrating that work can, indeed, be performed successfully outside the traditional office.

Then why do senior executives continue to cite “collaboration” as a reason for RTO? Here’s where honesty is needed:

  • Financial Investment: “We have invested significantly in our physical buildings, and underutilizing them wastes resources. Bringing people back maximizes this investment.”
  • Local Incentives: “Our presence supports local businesses that depend on office foot traffic, and our local government offers incentives based on in-office occupancy. Losing these incentives could increase our overhead.”
  • Brand Prestige: “Physical office spaces still project prestige. Help us maintain this image by coming back.”

While these may be difficult truths, employees are more likely to understand the full picture if companies are transparent about their motives.

Senior leaders need to recognize that work styles have evolved to the point where there is no “return” to what once was. Instead, RTO strategies should embrace the hybrid, flexible work culture that today’s employees—and businesses—have proven can be successful.

Paul Gammarano Sr MA JD

Check out the 77+ authored articles on LinkedIn..."Alternate Universes" is a 4-minute 'must-read' ! ConsulTec#

4 周

For members of PGSCP Pulse — Check out the two four-minute read articles: “Procurement: Back to Basics” for an old-fashioned checklist as a reminder of just how complex & detailed some procurement projects can be; And… “What if: A rudimentary disaster recovery plan”. There are still some entities without such a developed (customized) master plan, and for those which do have one—not everyone of their employees may be familiar with such a plan of notification/action. It’s (as the title suggests: rudimentary) at least a starting point, or and agenda list to check against, with what has been developed internally or via outsourced services.

Paul Gammarano Sr MA JD

Check out the 77+ authored articles on LinkedIn..."Alternate Universes" is a 4-minute 'must-read' ! ConsulTec#

4 周

Hey James M—thanks for the invite, and also for your poignant & timely observations on the realm of RTO. I agree with commenter Ragavsn that hybrid is best —especially as so many ‘office’ oriented positions today require the metaphorical “home” (on this example, it’s the, office) jersey — as well as the “away” jersey (travel mode, to client and/or vendor sites or working from one’s own residence). One can be more productive from home very often. While with American Express, I was told by IT that I was #6. When asking what that meant the fellow said “well, we track online time being logged in to our AXP servers, and you are sixth longest (over whatever period of time he mentioned, don’t remember probably quarterly). And he said it was across all employees. At the time it was over 70,000 global employees ! Maybe explaining two Annusl Chair Awards for getting things done. Point of this is that I would log in at 7am instead of rushing out of the house to the commuter bus, and AXP would gain 4 hours of work on those work fridays from home—long before “telecommuting” (as it was called then) later became a necessity! Best/regards, PJG

Ragavan Desikamani

Mentor, Advisor, Independent Consultant for Supply Chain Management for Petrochemical projects.

1 个月

While there is no disagreement on RTO in general, I feel hybrid is the best option as it allows the employees to enjoy the freedom of operation as well as for employers to have the personal touch. It is important to recognise the commuting time in top cities and dress culture required are not very productive time for either side.

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