What’s more, the same survey of more than 3,500 employees—conducted in November last year—revealed that nearly one-fifth (19%) of non-executives said they’d also quit if given an RTO mandate.

These findings are from but one of the recent surveys conducted by Gartner looking at the intersection of contemporary workplace arrangements and employee expectations.

A prior survey from the technological research and consulting firm, conducted with 170 HR leaders last September, found that organisations are increasing on-site requirements. This is in spite of employee preferences regarding remote, hybrid, and in-office working.

In the survey, 63% of respondents reported an increased expectation around employees spending days in the office, with 34% saying a mandated return has already been implemented. 13% said the consequences for employees not meeting on-site requirements have also intensified.

The forced mandating of employees returning to the office can have significant implications for talent attraction and retention—something which Gartner’s surveys on this subject continually highlights.

Another recent survey of nearly 3,000 candidates found that 36% of senior-level job seekers who have faced a return mandate said that it influenced their decision to leave their job. Meanwhile, one-third said they had discontinued a hiring process in the last year due to expectations that employees would return to a physical workplace.

Speaking on just how much RTOs can harm both talent and businesses, Caitlin Duffy, senior director in the Gartner HR practice, said: “With RTO mandates influencing the job-seeking and loyalty of senior-level candidates and employees, organisations that force workers to come into the office are likely to weaken their leadership bench and complicate succession planning.”

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Back at the beginning of this year, DIGIT reported on insightful Gartner findings concerning RTOs and the consequent impact on certain demographics.

In particular, the research found that, when organisations implement rigid return-to-office mandates, high-performers, millennials, and women are the three employee segments most likely to quit their job.

“Mandated on-site requirements can carry very steep costs for talent attraction and retention,” said Duffy.

“This is especially true for high-performers, women and millennials – three employee segments who greatly value flexibility.”
“Often these costs far outweigh the moderate benefits to employee engagement and effort.”