Return to office mandates are no automatic fix
Amazon is the latest in a long line of businesses ordering staff back to the office full-time, a disheartening trend that threatens to permanently damage workplace cultures around the world. Enforcing return-to-office (RTO) mandates could have disastrous effects on the workforce, and it’s high time organisations realised that.
It’s not exactly a new concept; over the past year we’ve seen businesses, from Santander (The Guardian) to Dell (Reuters), take the same approach. Nonetheless, Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy turned more than a few heads with his announcement.
Jassy explained the policy, claiming that strengthening company culture “remains a top priority” for the global corporation. He argued that being in the office full-time makes “teaching and learning from each other more seamless” and allows teams to be “better connected.”
On the face of it, these arguments have merit. Of course, being together in person will definitely help solidify relationships and pave the way for better, more effective collaboration. After all, it’s easier to deepen connections with colleagues if you can ask them how their weekends were across a couple of desks.
But these arguments are obvious. I can guarantee you that Amazon’s workforce is made up of bright, sensible, and professional individuals who can see the benefits of being in the office for themselves.
In fact, office attendance has been steadily increasing, regardless of whether companies have enforced RTO policies or not. In June 2020, 38% of UK workers worked solely from home – in 2024, the figure stands at 14% (ONS). People seek out company, so an increase in the number of those returning to the office is inevitable. Ruling with an iron fist on this issue is just unnecessary and, in Amazon’s case, could actually damage the very culture they want to develop.
Ultimately, enforcing these policies will do them more harm than good. For many, there are benefits to working in the office, and there are benefits to working from home – the important thing is that employees are respected enough to be allowed to choose the balance that will work for them, as long as they deliver on their objectives. Organisations must recognise this if they are to inspire and connect workforces rather than alienate them.
In 2022, ONS figures showed that 78% of workers felt improved work-life balance was an advantage of working from home, and 52% felt they were faster at completing their work. But the figures also showed that 48% recognised that working from home made it harder to work with others, and 26% agreed that there were more distractions when working from home. It is clear that employees are more than capable of recognising the pros and cons of working from home for themselves, and we should give them credit for that. Organisations must support them by providing a nourishing environment that reinforces the value of being at the office rather than forcing RTO mandates on them.
Amazon may genuinely believe that bringing employees together in the office five days a week will strengthen their workplace culture, but I can tell you from experience that creating an atmosphere of trust and freedom is far more effective. Employees should be drawn to the office, not forced into it.
Implementing controls like these strips away trust and will gradually erode the very workplace culture that Amazon’s leaders say they want to advance.
Ultimately, transforming culture requires far more than any one mandate. I’ve seen it time and time again in my own research; to establish organisational oneness where every team and every individual is moving toward the same goal, it comes from the top. Leaders must prioritise workplace culture and live and breathe it every day. You cannot enforce a sweeping policy and expect your culture to magically improve; leaders have to work at it day in, day out.
The reality is that the pandemic fundamentally and irreversibly shifted work routines. Businesses might not want to face that, but it’s a reality that isn’t going anywhere. Work-life balance is now more of a priority for employees, and rightly so. If organisations want a productive and successful workforce, then they need to recognise this – or they risk antagonising their staff.
And we mustn’t take the consequences of an unhappy workforce lightly. Recent studies found that stressed office workers who feel undervalued were 97% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation, a condition that can lead to serious heart problems (The Times).
Clearly, workplace culture is pivotal to the happiness, and crucially the health, of employees. We spend so much of our lives at work; employers must create a culture that protects, not jeopardises, their workforce’s health.
Introducing an enforced RTO mandate is a surefire way to make your workforce feel undervalued, and as the studies show, that is something we must avoid at all costs.
Even if return-to-office policies are borne out of a desire to nurture organisational culture, the truth is that they do the opposite. The dictatorial nature of these mandates weeds out any potential for a thriving, blossoming culture.
Respect and freedom are non-negotiable ingredients for a healthy workplace culture, and forced return-to-office policies undermine both. Organisations must recognise this sooner rather than later and fundamentally shift their approach.
Dr. Nahla Khaddage Bou-Diab is a culture and leadership expert, chairman and general manager of Oneness Mgmt, and CEO of AM Bank.
