Businesses stick with RTO despite talent loss – Resume Builder survey
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Despite a significant loss of talent related to return-to-office (RTO) mandates, a new survey from ResumeBuilder.com revealed that 1 in 4 companies plan to increase the required days employees must spend in the office by 2025.
This survey, conducted in May 2024, gathered insights from 756 business leaders from various companies that implemented RTO mandates since 2021.
Currently, half of the surveyed companies require employees to be in the office four to five days per week. The breakdown shows that 23% of companies require a five-day presence, 26% require four days, and the majority, 38%, require employees to work in person three days per week.
This high frequency continues despite less than 1% of companies completely dropping in-person requirements since their initial RTO implementations.
Losing talent over RTO
Eighty percent of companies lost some level of talent because of their RTO policies implemented since 2021. Julia Toothacre, Resume and Career Strategist at ResumeBuilder.com, attributes this to various factors.
“People may have moved and aren’t willing to move again to keep their position. It’s also possible that there are familial responsibilities that require a flexible schedule or the need to be at home. Some people also like working from home or remotely and don’t want to return to an office environment,” she explained.
Toothacre also suggests that health complications may prevent some professionals from complying with RTO mandates, potentially raising discrimination concerns.
“Work-life balance has become a higher priority for a lot of people and commuting into the office won’t seem worth it for some. I also believe there is a subset of people with their own health complications, and going back into the office isn’t an option for them. Theoretically, these professionals would be covered under discrimination laws.”
RTO strategy adjustments in 2025
Despite acknowledging talent loss, 45% of companies have no plans to alter their current RTO mandates for 2025. Conversely, 25% intend to increase in-office days.
Among the businesses looking to increase in-office days, 86% claim productivity improvements as their primary motivation, followed by enhancements to company culture (71%). However, Toothacre questions this rationale.
“Unfortunately, I think many business leaders make assumptions about things like productivity, culture, and employee well-being,” she said.
“Productivity is a result of clear expectations and good management. Culture is driven by people, not physical spaces, and employee well-being is more about how people are managed, their stress levels, and the amount of flexibility they have.”
On the other hand, companies reducing their RTO requirements cite improving employee well-being (86%), retention (73%), and reducing office space costs (49%) as their main drivers.
Incentives to encourage RTO
To encourage the transition back to the office, 70% of companies are offering incentives such as:
- commuter benefits – 73%
- pay raises – 68%
- catered meals – 61%
- social events – 61%
- childcare benefits – 61%
Toothacre advised, “With the rising cost of living, it’s more economical for professionals to work from home, so any additional financial compensation will help employees feel more comfortable returning to the office.”
Despite the incentives and stated goals of improving productivity and culture, 93% of business leaders believe employees should be required to work from the office, with 25% favoring a five-day in-office week. Only 7% of business leaders say employees should choose the best work set-up for them.
