Report: The RTO Push Is Ongoing, But With More Flexible Hours

A new report suggests the RTO trend is not going away. At the same time, workers are gaining flexibility.

Office attendance has been creeping up and has now hit 62% of the average 2019 in-office attendance.

The latest findings from a database of workplace attendance by region and by industry are in: They reveal that RTO is on an upward trajectory, despite research suggesting some CEOs are embracing flexible working.

However, employees are working more flexible hours, and moving away from a strictly traditional 9-to-5 working model.

The RTO Trend Is Set to Continue

The data has been collated by water dispenser company Bevi, with the key findings shared in a blog by the company’s co-founder & CEO, Sean Grundy.

He says that the attendance figures are only 2% lower than his team predicted at the start of the year.

 

About Tech.co Video Thumbnail Showing Lead Writer Conor Cawley Smiling Next to Tech.co LogoThis just in! View
the top business tech deals for 2024 👨‍💻
See the list button

But the bounce back will continue. He shares: “While we initially forecasted 9% growth in office attendance from last year to this year, we now anticipate surpassing that by five percentage points, reaching 69% of pre-pandemic attendance by the end of 2024.”

Tech Companies Are Leading the RTO Push

The team divided office spaces into four categories, tracking attendance from 2023 to the first half of this year. They found that the biggest bump up (at 11%) was for people working in the technology industry.

Companies including Dell have put strict RTO policies in place – and seen a dramatic dip in morale as a result.

A close second was “Finance & Insurance” with a 10% RTO rate, followed by “Manufacturing” with a 6% increase.

The percentage increase for those working in the Professional, Scientific & Technical category was 3%, while the arguably more progressive Arts, Entertainment & Recreation companies struck even.

Which Cities Are Seeing the Biggest Changes?

Los Angeles and Boston have seen the biggest bump in RTO figures. Grundy points to the new hybrid work policy put into place for State workers in California as having an impact. This mandate to be in the office for at least two days a week will have impacted 240,000 but is also sure to have set a precedent for other organizations.

In Boston, the team points to city planning as a key driver. Boston’s mixed-use developments – blending offices with residential spaces – mean that it’s quicker and easier for employees to get to work, so the draw of going into the office is higher.

More Time in the Office… But With Flexible Hours

The data also revealed that US workers are most likely to be in the office on a Tuesday, with Mondays and Fridays lagging behind for attendance. Interestingly, the Bevi team created a separate category for AI companies and found that employees at these companies had “a more balanced presence throughout the week,” compared to non-AI technology companies.

The hours that employees are working in the office are also shifting. In 2019, only 13% of employees worked between 5 pm and 9 am — a statistic that now sits at 20%.

This, says Grundy, reflects that employees are working more flexibly, even in the office, and are fitting their hours around everyday life, including running errands, avoiding traffic and family duties.

The report suggests that the RTO trend is not going away. There is still hope that employees can claw back some flexibility by working in the office but also taking time during the day for personal commitments.

Did you find this article helpful? Click on one of the following buttons
We're so happy you liked! Get more delivered to your inbox just like it.

We're sorry this article didn't help you today – we welcome feedback, so if there's any way you feel we could improve our content, please email us at contact@tech.co

Written by:
Katie has been a journalist for more than twenty years. At 18 years old, she started her career at the world's oldest photography magazine before joining the launch team at Wired magazine as News Editor. After a spell in Hong Kong writing for Cathay Pacific's inflight magazine about the Asian startup scene, she is now back in the UK. Writing from Sussex, she covers everything from nature restoration to data science for a beautiful array of magazines and websites.
Back to top