August 28, 2025
RTO Stats and Conspiracy Theories Pile Up
From a business leadership perspective, the ongoing return to office (RTO) drive makes a great deal of sense.
Expensive offices are just as much a sign of success as stock price and getting mentioned in Forbes. Practically, workers can collaborate better when in the same room, and it is a little easier to track productivity when departments are in plain sight. Take PWC’s office traffic light system as an example of current practices.
All are very good reasons to tempt staff back into the office, and the shinier and more expensive the office the greater the call from on high.
Larger Businesses Pushing RTO Harder
Recent research shows that RTO mandates double in large vs small companies, amid pressures to hit targets. Around 8% of large companies, are asking/demanding employees to return to the office, twice the rate seen in smaller organisations.
On the employee side, according to Pipedrive’s “2025 State of Sales and Marketing” report. The share of those who are very satisfied with current work models is about twice as high among those working mainly or fully remotely compared to those working fully on-site.
From a sales and marketing perspective, the report, highlights that In-office and out-office balancing is key for different types of workers – even though many enjoy the benefits of remote work, people forced to work remotely, but who feel more productive in the office, hit their goals less frequently, with just four in ten (40%) of this cohort hitting personal sales targets in 2024.
Related to that, job satisfaction is intrinsic to sales success – those who are very satisfied with their current employer hit 69% of sales targets, versus those who are very dissatisfied just hitting 29%.
Joining Up the RTO Numbers
Whatever the data, it is often hard for workers to see RTO as little more than a politically motivated drive by the office construction mafia, commercial landlords and major coffee shop chains to get workers back into city centres.
As indicators, a bellweather London office construction report shows that 14.40 million sq ft of space was under construction at the end of Q2 2025, of which 33% is already pre-let, with investment of £2.05 billion of investment in the quarter.
While office supplies (primarily desks and chair sales) only took two years after COVID to return to normal sales, and are estimated to grow some 7.7% CAGR by 2032, and hitting a $100 billion market along the way.
Joining the Big RTO Conspiracy Theory
One interesting adjunct to that theory, we read during one of Peter Duris’ Kickresume posts is that RTO mandates are actually just a sneaky way to get people to quit.
He notes, “I’ll admit, when I first read the theory, it felt like a stretch. I mean, yes, companies have been pushing for people to come back to the office. But with the intention to make them quit? Why would a company go out of its way to lose employees?”
Duris continues, “Turns out, it’s not that deep. Fewer employees = lower costs = more money. (Groundbreaking, I know.) But okay — if that’s what they really want, why not just fire people?
Oh right, money again. If someone quits on their own, the company doesn’t have to pay their severance. And they also don’t have to deal with the bad PR that usually comes with mass layoffs.
Turns out this conspiracy theory has legs. And to my surprise, most companies aren’t even hiding it.”
Balancing RTO and the Employee Experience
From an employee experience perspective, workers have good reason to question blunt RTO demands. Especially when progressive ideas like hybrid work, the four day week and other options exist, ideal for sales and creative workers.
But for now, any business (whose leadership aren’t stuck orbiting a politician’s money trough) need to clearly explain the value proposition behind RTO to staff, and measure success factors to justify their rationale.
In the era of worker-led trends like quiet quitting, clock botching and others, it seems only fair that enterprises have their own levers in this situation. But blunt RTO rarely seems like the answer.
