Return-to-office mandates create tension between management and employees

The office vs home working debate continues

Return to office (RTO) mandates can be a divisive subject. Some 74% of HR leaders cite these mandates as a source of conflict – according to a 2024 study from Gartner.

Both sides of the argument make strong cases for the benefits of either predominately office-based or remote work.

KPMG’s latest CEO Outlook survey found that 83% of CEOs expected their companies to adopt a full return to a five-day workweek this year – up from 64% the previous year.

Managers hope RTO will help foster a stronger company culture and bring added layers of oversight.

On the other side of the discussion, many employees crave some level of flexibility, though this appetite varies across different age groups and demographics.

What is your organization's current work model?

Fully remote
Hybrid (2-3 days in the office)
Fully in-office

Work Your Way: a human-centric approach to help employees to deliver their best

Dictating to employees about where they work is only effective when an enterprise carries significant influence and employees have restricted choices. However, over time this can ultimately lead to a disengaged workforce.

Instead, a better approach is to engage employees and understand what model works best for them while retaining company culture, customer experience, and organizational productivity.

An easy win that many of our customers are finding is making hybrid meetings more engaging for all participants.

Virtual whiteboards, for example, help bring people together across the office/home divide, with more synchronous ways of working possible through live documents.

AI offers new developments, including overcoming the need to be in many places at once. As well as the automated capture of meeting notes, with summaries and actions for attendees, the ability to ‘follow’ calendar invites will give workers information from a meeting without the need to attend.

Ultimately, enabling intentional engagements between staff – regardless of where they are based – will help get the most out of people.

How are you leveraging technology to improve hybrid work experiences?

Investing in AI-driven collaboration tools
Enhancing IT support for seamless remote work
Implementing digital workplace analytics for better insights
We have not yet optimized our hybrid work strategy

The labor market dictates what happens next

The economic environment, specifically the labor market, will likely tip the balance in favor of one side of the RTO argument or the other.

In a tight labor market – particularly in high-demand areas such as data, AI and technical skills – talent may have the power to dictate terms from prospective employers, with companies fighting over a limited talent pool.

According to one study, Europe needs 20 million ICT specialists by 2030, but current trends suggest it will miss this target.

However, if companies have fewer problems filling roles, they will be emboldened to follow whichever policy they feel best suits them – with prospective employees having less bargaining power.

How this materializes will be individual to each company and job, with different forces influenced by industry.

How Fujitsu enables Work Your Way

At Fujitsu, we’re helping thousands of customers modernize their digital workplace infrastructure.

Fujitsu can help implement a wide range of tools to facilitate a frictionless digital experience for employees on any device, no matter where they are based.

Our co-design process helps customers get under the skin of what their people want from their working environment – with our Human-Centered Design (HXD) approach helping define flexible working strategies.

IT support is another important factor – with accessible IT services and support so people can stay productive and work without friction from any location. Fujitsu’s Customer Experience Center and virtual assistants make this a reality.