Workers giving RTO mandates ‘the big don’t argue’ in 2025

It was a topic that dominated workplace discourse in 2024, but 2025 has already shown us that workers across the globe are unwilling to sacrifice their much-beloved flexibility.

The year 2025 has already been pegged as a “transformative” year for the world of work, with so many advancements and changes truly beginning to formulate. A topic that was heavily discussed on HR Leader in the previous year was the tug-of-war affair playing out between big-time corporations and their employees over returning to the office.

It’s no secret that workers across the world have gotten used to a flexible working arrangement, whether that’s a full-on working-from-home (WFH) situation or hybrid working; employees love it – but employers, not so much.

Many, including global corporation Amazon, have decided to call upon their workers to return to the office, claiming that it will foster collaboration and, therefore, improve business outcomes.

According to the International Workplace Group (IWG), however, this method fails to represent the reality that a number of chief executives are seeing, which is that hybrid working empowers millions of workers and has copious benefits in the long term.

“Companies that continue to expect their employees to commute long distances to a central office every day will trigger a wave of resignations, as employees resist their so-called return-to-office (RTO) mandates,” said IWG’s country head for Australia, Damien Sheehan.

According to IWG, research has already indicated that 73 per cent of employees at large companies such as Amazon considered resigning due to mandated RTO, while recruiters are also starting to see the consequences of more rigid policies.

Research by IWG found that two-thirds (67 per cent) of recruiters observed an increase in candidates looking to leave companies that implemented five-day central office attendance.

IWG claims that research has consistently shown that hybrid working leads not only to greater employee satisfaction but also greater productivity. It’s been well-reported that organisations in Australia, especially those that embrace a hybrid model and offer their employees that needed and yearned for flexibility, often fare much better than the organisations that are reluctant.

Mark Dixon, founder and CEO of IWG, said: “Hybrid working and its far-reaching benefits are now firmly on the boardroom agenda – providing a blueprint for a sustainable, agile, and resilient future of work.”

Dr Gleb Tsipursky, PhD, chief executive of hybrid work consultancy at Disaster Avoidance Experts, agrees with Dixon’s claim that “hybrid work is firmly on the boardroom agenda”, stating that any organisations that are still pushing for the tsunami of workers to return to the office are “fighting a losing battle”.

“In the face of these trends, it is becoming increasingly clear that employers who cling to the idea of a full-scale return to the office may be fighting a losing battle. Workers have demonstrated that they are willing to push back against rigid attendance rules, and the data shows that they are succeeding in securing more flexibility,” said Tsipursky.

“The year-over-year increase in remote and hybrid work signals that flexible work is here to stay. Companies that recognise this reality and adapt their policies accordingly will likely find themselves in a stronger position to attract and retain top talent.”