Office mandates don’t work. Here’s what does
Across the business world, the pressure to bring people back is building. In KPMG’s 2024 CEO Outlook, 83% of the 1,300 global CEOs surveyed said they expect their companies to require five days a week in the office within three years, up from 63% the year before. Amazon has already ended hybrid working for its staff.
But ordering people in and getting them to come in are two very different things.
The gap between expectation and reality
The Government Property Agency has reported expected office attendance of 66%, against actual attendance of 30% to 50%. Its view is that the experience matters more than being seen in the office.
The Leesman Index suggests attendance splits roughly into thirds: a third of staff are in four or more days a week, a third two or more days, and a third one day or less.
And the balance of power has shifted. Almost 60% of HR leaders say attracting talent is harder now than before the pandemic.
Why mandates miss the point
A mandate treats attendance as a discipline problem. Our data suggests it’s usually a design problem.
When we survey people, 78% say they feel connected to their organisation and colleagues when they work from the office. But only 57% feel their existing office adds to their job satisfaction. People value being together. They’re just not convinced the office helps them do their job.
As one stakeholder told us: “With an extra commute, the biggest issue may not be agility, the issue will be encouraging people to actually come into the office.”
A mandate can fill desks for a while. It can’t make the commute feel worth it.
What actually brings people back
When offices are designed around what people go there to do, they choose to come in. Not through presenteeism, but because the space supports their work better than their kitchen table does.
When we ask people what they want from the office, the answers are clear:
Spaces to meet informally: 71% of people want them.
Somewhere to take calls: 69% want meeting pods for Teams and phone calls.
Room to collaborate: 68% want collaborative and team spaces.
A choice of settings: 75% believe the future workplace should offer a variety of settings for different activities.
Flexibility matters too. 86% of people told us that adopting more flexible ways of working would improve employee morale and engagement.
What it looks like in practice
At Manchester Airport Group, a rigid, desk-filled office was replaced with fewer desks, flexible touchdown positions and a mix of settings for different kinds of work. The new space has become a catalyst for drawing staff back into the office, encouraging creative and collaborative working and improving communication.
Design the destination, not the rule
Whether your policy is three days, four days or five, the same principle applies. It’s not about the commute, but about what’s at the end of it. Give people a reason to come in, and the mandate becomes far less important.
Read the research
This blog draws on The Dynamic Workplace, Squaredot’s report based on 10 years of workplace data across UK businesses, 80 offices and more than 30,000 people.
