1 in 4 businesses plans to increase in-office days next year: Report

More companies plan to impose stricter in-office mandates next year, even if it risks losing workers.

Recently published findings from a survey conducted by ResumeBuilder.com show that a quarter of companies with return-to-work policies plan to require employees to come into offices more frequently.  

Companies with plans to increase employees’ in-office days are doing so mainly to improve productivity among their workforces.  

Out of these companies, 86 percent said the top reason for increasing in-office workdays was to improve productivity while 71 percent said it was to improve company culture, according to the survey.  

Another 57 percent of business leaders said they plan to mandate more in-office days to improve employee well-being while 55 percent said they were doing so to improve workforce retention.  

“Unfortunately, I think many business leaders make assumptions about things like productivity, culture, and employee well-being,” said Julia Toothacre, resume and career strategist at ResumeBuilder.com.  

“Productivity is a result of clear expectations and good management. Culture is driven by people, not physical spaces, and employee well-being is more about how people are managed, their stress levels, and the amount of flexibility they have.” 

Businesses differ on just how many days a week workers should be required to be in the office.  

A quarter of business leaders said employees should be in the office five days a week, 29 percent said four days a week is sufficient, 26 percent said three days, 11 percent said two days, two percent said one day and less than one percent said they believe employees should come in less than once a week, according to the survey.  

These same companies, though, acknowledged that they have lost workers due to their existing return-to-office mandates.  

Among businesses surveyed, 14 percent said they lost a lot of talent due to their return-to-office policy while 36 percent said they have lost some, 33 percent said they have lost a little and 16 percent said they have not lost any workers.  

ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 750 business leaders working at companies with more than 11 employees.