Following corporate giants such as Boots, JD Sports, and Santander urging employees to spend more time in the office, many other companies are introducing return-to-office mandates. In fact, our latest survey reveals two in three full-time workers have been required to spend more time in the office over the past two years.

In January, we surveyed 1,000 workers to gauge their feelings about returning to the office and found a noticeable reluctance among employees to return to spending full time in the office. 

Key findings: 

  • 60% of remote workers have had employers demand more office time in the last two years

  • 1 in 6 employees would quit their jobs if their company enforced a return-to-office policy

  • Over a third of millennials intend to disregard enforced return-to-office regulations

  • The vast majority of workers (96%) say they seek carefully selected incentives to return to the office them back in the office 

  • 2 in 5 employees feel that a return to the office would lead to decreased job satisfaction

Young workers are most likely to ignore return-to-office rules

Our survey found that 60% of remote workers have faced a change in their remote working policy in the last 24 months, with 38% of them required to return to the office five days a week. 

The findings also show that while 77% of employees would comply with an RTO policy to avoid consequences, a rebellious 6.7% plan to ignore return-to-office mandates by continuing remote work or attending the office less frequently than required.  

The survey found that introducing return-to-office policies could lead to a talent exodus, as 16% of respondents indicated they would leave their jobs for new opportunities if forced to return to the office.

Generation X stood out as the generation most willing to comply with a return-to-office (RTO) policy, with 40% stating they would follow the rules to avoid consequences. However, millennials emerged as the most resistant to the change, with 37% planning to defy RTO policies. Additionally, millennials were also the most inclined to seek new jobs, with 35% stating they would leave their current positions if required to return to the office.  

54% of workers believe returning to the office would impact their work-life balance

Over the last few years, workers have flourished with the advantages of not having to go to the office; employees get to work flexibly and avoid the 62 hours of commuting that Brits had to endure in the last year. 

When asked about the negatives working in the office would pose, one common response among over half of respondents (54%) was the fear that more time in an office would negatively impact their work-life balance. 

The monster under the bed that is going unaddressed by CEOs is that one-third of respondents fear working from the office would significantly impact their mental health. In a YouGov survey, 1 in 5 Brits needed time off from work due to mental health struggles last year, highlighting that leaders introducing return-to-office policies must do so using a more mindful approach. 

Half of workers admit they would be more productive in the office

However, there's no ignoring the positives that workers believe returning to the office poses. While workers are largely reluctant to return to the office, nearly 50% of respondents admitted their productivity would likely improve. 

Even with the cost of commuting and purchasing lunches, over one-third of respondents feel they would spend less in the office than when working from home. One study finds that on average, remote-working Brits spend £47.07 every week on energy bills when working from home. 

Which incentives will get employees back in the office?

Even with the risk of losing high-performing talent, there's limited evidence that big corporations are offering incentives for employees to return to the office. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has told employees that if they don't comply with the return-to-office policy, “ it's not going to work out for you.” But could offering incentives offset the reluctance among remote employees to return to the office?

Our survey found that a staggering 65% of employees would see a pay rise as the most desirable incentive to make a return to the office worthwhile. Not only that, but 54% would still want some flexibility including flexible start and end times to avoid peak commuting hours. 

However, none of the incentives mattered enough to 10% of workers, as they said no incentive would make returning to the office worth it. 

Conclusion

As companies enforce return-to-office mandates, resistance among remote workers is evident. While many employees recognise potential productivity gains, the loss of flexibility, concerns over mental health, and the threat to work-life balance isn't enough to entice workers into the office. 

What we did

This survey was commissioned by TopCV and conducted using Pollfish, between January 13 and January 14, 2025. Overall, 1,000 workers aged 18+ in full-time work completed the survey. 

Further analysis was performed on survey results to avoid biased weighting in responses across various generations.

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