- What's at Stake: Talent acquisition, retention, and real-estate costs hinge on RTO choices.
- Supporting Data: One in eight companies plan stricter in-office requirements by 2026.
- Forward Look: Expect renewed candidate leverage if employers ignore flexible-work expectations.
- Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
After years of hybrid schedules and work-from-anywhere policies, the era of flexible work may be coming to a close.
One in eight companies are increasing the number of required days in the office in 2026, according to recent data from Resume Builder, with nearly half of companies stating that they will require employees to be in the office at least four days a week. And although companies may feel comfortable pushing back against employees' demands for flexibility now, it may not always work to their advantage.
"For years, the power was with candidates, and companies couldn't get talent unless they went remote," says Stacie Haller, career expert at Resume Builder. "Now that power has shifted back to the corporate side, and the more old school folks who were never big fans of that trend are pulling the reins back."
Read more: Clear RTO policies create stronger teams – here's why
Sixty-four percent of companies increasing the required in-office days are doing so mainly to strengthen company culture, according to Resume Builder's findings. Another 62% are hoping to improve productivity, 45% want to maximize use of office spaces they rent and just over 20% are looking to boost retention. Hopes of improving employee happiness and well-being are significantly lower, the data revealed, and 8% of organizations are even admitting that they're only bringing their workforce back to the office in the hope employees will quit, and they can avoid mass layoffs.
Despite the continued RTO push, there is still very little data that supports the notion that bringing employees back to the office will have any kind of positive impact on productivity, according to Haller, and the same can be said for a better company culture. In fact, most of the research available warns organizations of the opposite happening.
"Talk is cheap," Haller says. "An organization can say it's an improvement as much as they want, but the bottom line is that if employees are being forced back into the office when they don't want to, it won't matter."
Make RTO worth it
Workplace incentives can be a really successful tool in easing the transition back to work and reduce employee push back, yet less than a third of employers plan to incorporate benefits like social events, catered meals or commuter benefits, according to Resume Builder's findings. Offering raises or child care benefits could also be a good way to incentivize employees to return to work with a more positive attitude, or risk the consequences down the line.
Read more: Saying no to RTO: Omada Health's CPO shares her remote-first strategy
"People are watching how these companies are responding," Haller says. "These trends are a cycle, and when the power shifts again and it's employees who get to make the choices, it's going to be a challenge for certain companies to recruit those employees because they'll remember how they were treated during this time."
If scaling back RTO mandates or reinstating remote work aren't options, Haller suggests increasing leave policies or adding mandatory PTO days so that employees can feel like they have a better balance. In the end, organizations should ask themselves whether RTO is actually better for employee engagement, and how it will actually benefit business.
"You have to get buy-in from your employees on what you're doing," Haller says. "Create a culture where employees at least understand and can begin to accept why they're being asked to come in."
