Pushing staff back to the office? You may want to reconsider – return to office mandates harm employee productivity and retention

High-profile spats between workers and employers have hit the headlines in recent months amidst a concerted effort to push staff back into the office .

However, it's not whether you work at home or at the office that makes the biggest difference to your wellbeing, according to a recent study, it's whether or not you get the choice.

Remote, hybrid, and on-site workers all have a worse experience when their employer dictates where they work, research from Great Place To Work shows.

It's when employees are given the power to choose a policy that works best for their needs — either as an individual or as a team — that their experience starts to improve.

When employees were able to pick where they worked, they were three-times more likely to want to stay with their organization and fourteen-times less likely to 'quit and stay'.

Staff were also more likely to report making extra effort at work, have a good relationship with their manager, and have a psychologically and emotionally healthy work environment.

In the tech industry, remote employees are more likely to report a healthy work-life balance, but need more communication about the future of the company and their role in getting there. On-site tech workers are more likely to have meaningful relationships with management, but are more susceptible to burnout.

"At the heart of the debate over return-to-office mandates is the desire for employees to have a say in policies that affect them," said Great Place To Work's Ted Kitterman.

"When companies listen to employees — and take tangible, measurable action based on what they hear — employees are more likely to feel heard and appreciated. Those feelings have a real business impact."

Seven-in-ten employees said their employer mandates where they work. And two-thirds of those without mandates report having a psychologically and emotionally healthy work environment, compared to just over half of employees with mandates.

In the typical US workplace, employees who work remotely are 27% more likely to look forward to coming to work, researchers found. Similarly, 19% were more likely to say their workplace is psychologically and emotionally healthy. They also report stronger relationships with coworkers and seniors.

Giving staff the choice is good for the bottom line too. A recent survey from ResumeBuilder found that eight-in-ten employers have lost talent to return-to-office mandates.

Nearly half said that allowing staff to work remotely lets them access a broader talent pool, and more than half found workers were more productive when working remotely.