RTO rumble: Which side of the debate are you on?

PROS AND CONS: In 2023, only 22% of employees wanted to work full-time from the office, according to a recent report from tech company Owl Labs , yet 66% of professionals are now required to do so. Which begs the question: How are leaders actually making their policies??

"[Return-to-work mandates] are still being debated pretty extensively — both in workplaces and in the media," says Scott Cawood, Ed.D, CCP, GRP, CSCP, CBP , CEO of WorldatWork . "The debate has settled into two camps: One that favors RTO at any cost, and one that has been attempting to permanently integrate hybrid and remote work into its model."?While there's no one way to do things, Cawood and other top leaders share what works best for them, and their employees:

Read: RTO or WFH? 6 leaders weigh in on what works best

COLLABORATION: Long commutes, expensive child care and a general question of "Why are we here?" all make a strong case for staying remote — 50% of employees believe they can do their jobs from home full-time, and 90% of those say they do not wish to return to the office five days a week, according to Gallup . That means employers need to do more than just bring people back to shared space and hope for the best.?

"It's hard to cultivate and maintain culture and a sense of belonging in a fully remote environment," says Jenni Bedell, SPHR, SHRM-SCP , HR consulting practice leader at OneDigital . "Employees want to feel like they're part of something bigger. Companies who aren't intentional about showing employees how their work affects the big picture, are at a disadvantage in the war for talent." Bedell and others share how to make in-person office time more valuable:

Read: Why are we in the office? How to make in person days count

HYBRID: A third of remote workers have reported feeling lonely and isolated from colleagues , according to a 2023 survey from Glassdoor , and almost half of remote workers have even felt ostracized and ganged up on by their in-person colleagues, according to Harvard Business Review . So why are employers continuing to push a policy that leaves so many employees out in the cold??

"There have been multiple touch points over the last few years where we could revisit how we do things and how we want to operate," says Jennifer Britton, author and professional leadership coach with coaching platform Potentials Realized . "Yet leaders are nervous about even opening that Pandora's box."?Here's how to tweak your hybrid work approach so no one feels left out:

Read: The hybrid work experiment is failing everyone