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The RTO Landscape in 2025
Amazon’s Andy Jassy made headlines in September 2024 when he announced the company’s five-day return-to-office mandate. Recently, the e-commerce giant indicated that the RTO deadline for some workers is delayed because not all of its offices are ready for the onslaught of employees.
Amazon aside, a recent study from CBRE said that while hybrid office arrangements will stay in place, “office attendance will increase as companies and employees align their expectations for in-office work.”
Survey Results
CBRE partnered with CoreNet in surveying 198 corporate real estate professionals concerning workplace strategies to boost office attendance. Here’s what the survey revealed:
51% of corporate leaders want to improve office attendance from current levels. Some are trying to align attendance levels with current policy, while others could move to a policy of less hybrid work. “Of the respondents who plan to change their attendance policies to require more in-office days, nearly two-thirds currently expect three days or less,” the study said.
Current office attendance negatively impacts relationship-building and cross-team collaboration. “These workplace objectives are difficult to achieve when office attendance is sporadic or unpredictable,” CBRE said. Interestingly enough, only one-quarter (26%) of those surveyed indicated that current office attendance levels are putting a damper on productivity.
Barriers to office attendance include commute times and unenforced RTO mandates. The survey pointed out that 57% of respondents cited commute time as a challenge when bringing more people back to the office. Meanwhile, 83% pointed to a lack of attendance policy as a problem.
Change Management
CBRE said companies are moving beyond mandates and enforcement to improve office attendance. Instead, they’re implementing change management strategies that include the following:
- Leaders as role models
- Capital investments in workplace technology
- Manager training to align expectations
- Increased social and event programming
- A more targeted approach to office attendance expectations
CBRE added that executives are employing additional strategies, such as changing workplace designs and layouts, upgrading workplace services and amenities, and even relocating to better buildings.
- ◦People
