It’s been quite a year in the world of workplace drama. Big business has been flexing it’s muscles on return-to-office (RTO) mandates, gently (or not so gently) nudging us away from the cosy hybrid setups we’ve all grown rather fond of.
Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Barclays are at the forefront, who seem determined to get bums back on office chairs, bringing in stricter office attendance policies despite employees’ collective eye-rolls everywhere. If this trend keeps up, which has aptly been named “The Great Return”, we could see even more companies following their lead through 2025, possibly changing how we think about work for years to come.
The Corporate Push for Return-to-Office
When COVID-19 first hit, the world of work went through a whirlwind transformation. Overnight, our kitchen tables became our desks, pyjamas turned into our new office attire, and we got really acquainted with the fine art of pretending to look engaged on Zoom calls whilst secretly checking emails. Remote work wasn’t just a rare perk now, it was a full-blown necessity as businesses scrambled to keep things running.
Fast forward a few years and the tides are turning again. The office is slowly creeping back into our daily lives. Sure, working from the sofa in fluffy socks has its perks, but there’s no denying that a bit of in-person chatter, spontaneous brainstorming and a cheeky gossip by the coffee machine bring their own kind of magic. Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Barclays are leading the charge, convinced that productivity, collaboration and company culture thrive best when everyone’s in the same place.
CEO’s reckon office life brings out the best in teams, with ideas flowing better and mentoring the newbies being easier and let’s be honest, managers do love knowing exactly where everyone is. There’s something reassuring (for them, at least) about seeing people at their desks.
So, while remote work isn’t disappearing anytime soon, the great office comeback is well underway. Whether it’s a welcome return or a reluctant reunion, one thing’s for sure and that’s that the way we work is shifting once again…
Related Reading: Cloudbooking Introduces New Workplace Solution Bundles for Micro and Small-Sized Businesses
Who’s Leading the RTO movement then?
Amazon: A Cultural Shift or an Operational Hurdle?
Amazon decided to kick off 2025 with a bold move, enforcing a five-day-a-week RTO policy, making it one of the largest employers to crack down on office attendance. Reason for this? CEO Andy Jassy insists that in-person work strengthens company culture, boosts collaboration and fuels innovation.
However, the implementation hasn’t been without its hiccups. Amazon had to delay the return for some employees by up to four months due to insufficient office space. Moreover, in regions like the UK and the Netherlands, enforcement has been more lenient, allowing for some continued flexible working.
As expected, employees haven’t been thrilled. Many have pushed back, arguing that they were just as productive, if not more so, while working remotely. But for now, Amazon is holding firm, determined to get warm seats back in the office.
AT&T: A Full-Time Office Return
In a similar vein, telecom giant AT&T also jumped on the RTO bandwagon, officially ending hybrid work in January 2025. The new mandate requires all employees to return to in-person work five days a week.
Critics argue this move ignores the efficiency and cost savings that remote work offers, especially for employees juggling childcare, long commutes and rising travel costs. But AT&T isn’t budging, it’s standing by its decision, convinced that full-time office work is the way forward.
Whether this leads to a mass exodus of talent or a productivity boost remains to be seen…
Barclays: Regulatory Pressure Drives Change
Over in the world of high finance, Barclays made headlines in June 2024 when it ordered investment banking staff back to the office five days a week.
Why I hear you ask? Well, regulation is the answer. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reinstated pre-pandemic workplace-monitoring rules, meaning certain roles need to be in-office for compliance reasons.
While some employees begrudgingly accepted their fate, others are questioning whether rigid attendance policies will actually improve performance or just make everyone grumpier. This has left many questioning whether Barclay’s might even be slowly moving towards a full RTO policy and considering how nearly every other bank is operating, this wouldn’t really be a surprise.
Boots: A Full-Scale Office Revival
Boots has officially waved goodbye to hybrid work. As of September 2024, around 4000 office-based employees have been required to show up in person five days a week.
To soften the blow, the high-street retailer promised a few workplace upgrades, including better Wi-Fi, improved videoconferencing and even a refreshed office space. But not everyone is convinced. Some employees are grateful for the investment, while others are sceptical and wondering if this shift is truly necessary in a digital-first world.
Citigroup: Balancing Hybrid Work with Regulatory Compliance
Meanwhile, Citigroup is walking a fine line between regulatory compliance and employee flexibility. While the majority of its 240,000 global employees still enjoy hybrid work and are being actively supported in there perks by Citigroup’s CEO (a keen and vocal hybrid advocate), 600 trading staff have been summoned back to the office full-time.
The reason? Yet again, regulatory changes from FINRA.
Despite Citigroup’s hybrid-first approach, Citigroup has tightened its oversight on attendance. The bank now tracks security pass swipes to ensure employees are in the office at least three days a week and at the same time, Citigroup is making a hefty £1 billion investment to revamp its London offices, sparking speculation that more employees could soon face similar in-office mandates.
Mandates at a glance…
| Company | Office Mandate | Implementation Date |
| Adobe | 2-3 days | 2023 |
| Apple | 3 days | 2022 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 days | 2024 |
| Bank of England | 2 days | 2024 |
| Dell | 5 days | 2025 |
| Deutsche Bank | 3 days | 2024 |
| Disney | 4 days | 2023 |
| Goldman Sachs | 5 days | 2023 |
| GSK | 2-3 days | 2023 |
| HSBC | 5 days | 2023 |
| Infosys | 2-3 days | 2024 |
| JD Sports | 4 days | 2024 |
| J.P. Morgan Chase | 5 days | 2024 |
| Meta | 2-3 days | 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | 2 days | 2024 |
| Nationwide | 2-3 days | 2024 |
| Rockstar Games | 5 days | 2024 |
| Sage | 4-5 days | 2023 |
| Santander | 3 days | 2024 |
| Slack | 3 days | 2024 |
| Starbucks | 5 days | 2022 |
| Tesla | 5 days | 2022 |
| THG | 5 days | 2024 |
| UBS | 2-3 days | 2024 |
| WPP | 4 days | 2025 |
| Twitter (or X…) | 5 days | 2022 |
What do Employees think about all of this…
Let’s just say the return-to-office mandates have not exactly been met with open arms. While some employees appreciate the structure and social buzz of office life, plenty of others are less than thrilled. According to a McKinsey survey, 68% of employees were mostly office-based in 2024, a sharp rise from just 35% in 2023. But despite the increase, not everyone is jumping for joy at the prospect of more time at their desk.
For many, remote work was not just about convenience, it was a game-changer for work-life balance. A 2021 Gallup report found that flexible working led to higher productivity and job satisfaction. Fast forward to today, and the push back to office life has been linked to higher stress levels, work-family conflicts, and plain old burnout. In fact, up to 66% of unhappy employees have said they would consider quitting if their company forced them back full-time.
And then there’s the office itself. Many employees have found that, rather than being hubs of productivity, offices can be too noisy, too distracting, and just not designed for focused work. A Psychology Today article suggests that if companies are serious about getting people back in, they need to rethink office spaces to properly support how employees actually work, not just assume that sticking everyone in a room together will magically boost productivity.
If you want to dive deeper, check out CIPD’s analysis of workplace trends for 2025, it’ll be sure to give you an idea of what’s happening and what companies should ideally be doing…
Related Reading: How to Optimise Your Workspace with These 8 Occupancy Metrics
The Future of Workplace Policies
While some companies are digging their heels in and demanding full-time office attendance, others, such as Citigroup and Salesforce, are sticking with flexible policies to attract and retain top talent. The debate over whether hybrid working is here to stay or just a temporary compromise is far from over, but one thing is clear, employee expectations are pretty clear.
To most, remote working is no longer just a nice-to-have and that stance is showing up quite abit lately, best showcased by the fact that 40% of job seekers would turn down an offer if it did not offer flexible working. This dramatic shift has been echoed across multiple reports, showing that for many, flexibility is now a necessity rather than a perk. Companies that double down on strict return-to-office mandates realistically risk losing their best talent to competitors that are more willing to adapt to the new reality and whether organisations realise this risk is honestly yet to be seen. In fact, businesses that have embraced flexible working consistently report higher employee satisfaction and retention rates, food for thought…
On top of that, governments may also play a bigger role in shaping workplace policies. The right-to-disconnect laws, which would give employees the legal right to switch off outside working hours, are already being considered in several countries, including the UK. With burnout on the rise, regulations like these could become a very well needed safeguard as businesses navigate the post-pandemic working world.
But ultimately in this ever-changing landscape, it is likely that workplace policies will become both more employee centric and employer centric. Companies that prioritise flexibility, well-being and work-life balance will be in a stronger position to attract and retain top talent. Technology will also continue to reshape the way we work, with improved virtual collaboration tools, AI-driven productivity aids and robust cybersecurity measures helping employees stay connected and productive no matter where they are. However, with that said, organisations that have high estate costs, are subject to industry regulations and believe in in-person collaboration are likely to budge over the next year or two, so we’re likely going to see both further tightening and softening of policies from either side of the debate.
Looking ahead, businesses need to find the right balance. A workplace model that blends in-person collaboration with the flexibility employees now expect is far more likely to stand the test of time. The companies that will thrive in this new era will be those that listen to their employees, optimise office space wisely and use technology to make hybrid working seamless… so [insert sales pitch here] talk to the experts at Cloudbooking to get a head start on just that.
Struggling to navigate the many different workplace policies and strategies of 2025? Chat with a Cloudbooking Consultant today and uncover smarter, simpler ways to manage your workspace. Let’s turn your workplace into the ultimate productivity hub!
