RTO Mandates Driving Away Top Performers, Gartner Study Confirms

A recent Gartner report reveals stricter return-to-office policies could lead to higher employee turnover — particularly among top performers.

Statistically, a business that decides to issue a return-to-the-office (RTO) mandate faces a higher risk of losing top talent this year.

A recent Gartner report reveals that employees at organizations with RTO mandates have a lower intent to stay compared to those at organizations without one. Notably, high-performing employees reported a 16% lower intent to stay in the face of on-site work requirements.

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The data unveils the potential negative impacts that strict RTO policies can have on an organization. Especially when top performing employees have become accustomed to flexible work policies adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stricter RTO mandates have seen an increase over the past year in various sectors (such as the tech field).

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Gartner reveals that 63% of HR leaders reported increased expectations for employees to return to the office over the past year. However, 74% of HR leaders also said that these mandates are causing conflicts.

RTO mandates pose the greatest talent-retention risks to high-performers, women, and millennials at an organization. These three demographics are found to highly value greater workplace flexibility, more so than other groups.

High performers may feel resentful about RTO mandates — particularly if they maintained or exceeded performance expectations during the pandemic, Gartner found. They may also perceive RTO mandates as a signal of mistrust from management.

Despite some minor benefits, such as increased effort due to closer monitoring and improved colleague support, the data shows the overall advantages of RTO mandates are minimal.

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Business managers may feel more comfortable with increased visibility into their teams’ workflows, but this does not outweigh the broader negative impacts on employee engagement and retention.

If RTO mandates are necessary, HR leaders will have a better chance at retention if they collaborate with employees to develop policies using an employee-centric approach. Providing clear reasons for in-office requirements are also reported to improve engagement and retention.

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