According to King’s College London researchers, less than half of UK employees would adhere to a mandate to return to the office full-time. They also discovered a slight rise in the average number of days that workers are allowed to work from home.
The Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, at KCL, found that despite the “great return” of many high-profile leaders and CEOs to their offices, there was no evidence.
The researchers compared 50,000 responses from the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes UK with observations from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
Return to Office mandates: What is at stake for employees, companies, gender equality and? found that only 42% of workers would comply with the five-day RTO requirement. This was down from 54% by 2022.
From early 2022 to the second quarter 2024, workers who said they would seek a new position with the option of working from home if their employers imposed a RTO mandate increased by 50%.
From 5% to 10%, the number of workers who would immediately quit if a similar mandate was imposed has doubled.
Women are more likely than men to say they will not return to work. 64% of women said that they would leave the office immediately or look for alternative employment.
Parents are also becoming more resistant to the idea of working full-time in an office. Over half of fathers with school-age kids said they would leave or find a new job, compared to just 38% at the beginning of 2022.
Only one third of mothers who have young children would be willing to work full-time in a office.
However, black and minority workers showed higher compliance rates, possibly reflecting greater levels of job security.
The Institute also analyzed hybrid working data in order to determine which habits have become established on the labour market.
Although several employers claimed that workers would return to their offices, the percentage of employees who said their home was the main place of employment between early 2022 until late 2024 remained relatively stable between 26%-30%.
Researchers found that the average number of days per week where workers were allowed to work from home increased slightly: from a little more than one in 2022, to 1.3 in 2024. Employers were less likely than before the pandemic to permit full-time working from home.
‘Two-tier workforce’
Researchers warned that return-to-office rigid policies could negatively impact diversity and inclusion. They may even create a two-tiered workforce.
Women and parents who have caregiving responsibilities may be forced to leave roles in which this is required. If more mothers and fathers work from home, this could lead to greater stigmatization and career penalties.
Heejung Chung is a professor of work and employment, and the director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership. She said, “A growing amount of research shows how well-designed hybrid models offer significant benefits for employers and employees.”
“Along with this, there’s been a noticeable shift in attitudes. Workers now see flexibility as the standard.” The managers need to adapt and understand this new reality.”
She suggested that organizations should “formalise” hybrid models by investing in remote collaboration software and organizing in-office days in order to maximize engagement.
She added that workers should be encouraged to resist the return-to-office directives where possible. “The evidence that remote working doesn’t harm productivity is increasing,” she said.
Flexible workers are more likely to be loyal to their job and work harder than those who don’t work flexibly.
Employers continue to enforce strict return-to office mandates despite growing evidence that candidates are rejecting them.
Asset manager BlackRock has told its senior staff that they should return to work five days per week. Business leaders like Alan Sugar, and Stuart Rose, have also called for the return of in-person working.
Take care when handling your business
Charlotte Sloan is the legal director of Birketts’ employment team. She said that changes in arrangements should be handled carefully.
She advised that “changing working from home or hybrid working arrangements so as to require an increased office attendance is a complex process, especially where flexible hybrid working has become the norm for a while in the organization.” This requires careful management and communication.
From a legal standpoint, imposing new standards on employees could lead to claims for breach of contract, unfair termination, and other possible claims.
While introducing bonus criteria and career advancement criteria tied to office attendance expectations has become more common, the carrot approach is usually better for staff engagement. This avoids the risk that staff will vote with their feet.
It is better to create a new standard by encouraging in-office attendance, creating an inviting environment at the office and providing opportunities for collaboration with colleagues.
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