What are the pros and cons of returning to work in an office after some companies have been remote for over two years?

Though many employees don't want a rigid return-to-office mandate, there are many benefits of working in an office. Some examples include:

An enhanced sense of belonging that results from working toward the same goal alongside your team.
Opportunities for employees to build professional and personal connections, resulting in strengthened collaboration and camaraderie. This strengthened connection contributes significantly to an employee's overall sense of happiness, their desire to be productive, and helps them maintain a high level of engagement in their work.
Serendipitous conversations that happen informally in an office. These lead to questions being answered more quickly, but also lead to strong bonds built between team members. Working from home requires all interactions to be scheduled or occur digitally.
Physical boundaries to define workspace outside of their home, which may help team members avoid burnout.

Strict "return-to-office" policies reduce talent pools for organizations, as they will only be able to hire candidates living near an office, or people willing to relocate. Companies requiring employees to return to the office full time are likely to lose a portion of their workforce, given two-thirds of employees say they would consider looking for a new job under rigid RTO policies.

Instant Insights /

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