WFH vs RTO: The Conversation We’re Not Having

The debate over working from home versus returning to the office keeps cycling through headlines and policies. Some companies mandate a return. Others double down on remote work. Employees push back. Leaders dig in.

But beneath all of it, we’re still missing the real conversation.

Most of the debate isn’t about productivity or collaboration at all—it’s about power and obedience. Who gets to decide. Who has to comply. When leadership conversations get framed this way, everyone loses.

What Employers Actually Need

Now we get to think about another set of needs—employers. They are trying to meet real needs, too, and they are imposing their own solutions to meet those needs. The thing is, a solution is not a need. There are many, many solutions to a need, but before coming up with those solutions, what if we understood the needs of all employees more clearly so we could find solutions that work for everyone? That may sound like a pie-in-the-sky idea, but stay with me. First, let’s think about what the RTO mandate solves for the employer. What need does it meet? Let’s think about that.

Here are some real, understandable needs that may be behind return-to-office mandates.

• Productivity and accountability
• Trust and reliability
• Team connection and camaraderie
• Training and mentoring newer employees
• Culture-building and informal learning
• Wasted money in empty buildings

These needs matter. Ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear; it just makes people dig in harder.

What Employees Actually Need

I started doing a little asking around of different people’s experiences on the WFH, Hybrid, and RTO spectrum. One friend who was recently “forced” back to the office tells me he’s much less productive than he used to be and also much unhappier. Chicken or the egg, right? The problem—his needs aren’t getting met.  He hates commuting, can’t take a break when he really needs one, and doesn’t have much privacy—all things that really hurt his productivity. He has constant interruptions at work and can’t focus as well.  As a result, neither work nor home gets the best version of him.

A different employee may be glad to go back away from the distractions of small children and enjoy getting back to adult conversations. Another might like RTO but needs a little extra time to drop kids off at school or coach that little league team.

For many, employees aren’t resisting structure. They’re protecting their well-being, or in other words – their NEEDS.  Here’s a short list of needs that include those who like WFH, RTO, or a hybrid.

• Flexibility and autonomy
• Trust instead of monitoring

• 

  Work-life balance

• Less time and money lost to commuting
• Space for focused, uninterrupted work
• Socialization
• Productivity

These needs are equally valid. And when they’re dismissed, engagement erodes, and job satisfaction quietly follows.

When Control Replaces Problem Solving

Instead of defining these needs and solving for them together, many organizations default to blunt solutions:

“Everyone back in the office.”
“Because leadership decided.”
“No exceptions.”

That approach may secure compliance, but it rarely builds commitment.

Another friend was required to make a full return to the office, five days a week. She adjusted her schedule, rearranged her life, and showed up… only to spend most of her day on Microsoft Teams meetings. With colleagues who were literally down the hall. She could hear them TWICE, once on the screen and once down the hall in the open cubicle. She was working remotely—at work. It was an Office Space-type scenario if ever there was one!

It wasn’t collaboration. It wasn’t culture. It certainly wasn’t intentional. It was a mandate without problem-solving.

The Missed Opportunity: Multiple Solutions Exist

The truth is, there isn’t one right answer—but there are many workable ones. They all just depend on, that’s right—NEEDS.  Here at L.E.T, we call this No Lose Problem Solving.

So how do we do this? We get the best understanding of needs as possible; whether it’s surveys, meetings, or getting HR involved, this step matters – A LOT. Once you’ve got those down, you brainstorm as many solutions as possible, then pick the 1, 2. or 10 (or a combo of many) that meet all the needs.

Here’s a short list of possible solutions

• Designated in-office days for mentoring, training, or team connection
• Team-level decisions about which work/workers truly benefit from being onsite
• Let employees decide for themselves with certain parameters
• Clear agreements about availability, communication, and expectations
• Hybrid schedules built around outcomes, not optics
• Flexible hours to avoid congestion for those commuters

When leaders shift from control to collaboration, they often discover solutions that meet both employer and employee needs much better. Then productivity soars, the workplace culture is extremely positive, and employees stay because they want to, not because they have to. Does this take a little more time upfront? Yes. BUT, may I remind you, we did this before, and we can do it again—better. Especially with those kinds of outcomes!

The Bottom Line

The future of work isn’t remote or in-office; it’s relational. Organizations willing to move beyond obedience and into collaboration won’t just resolve the work-location debate—they’ll build environments people want to stay in.

And that’s the kind of leadership worth developing.

 

*To learn the formal process of this kind of complex problem-solving, why not take Leader Effectivness Training class? I’m really good at listening.