Why the return to office is about presenteeism, not productivity

With more UK companies rolling out return to office (RTO) mandates, many have claimed that these policies have been implemented to boost workplace productivity and employee engagement. 

However, a recent study revealed that nearly half of UK organisations only enforce RTO policies for appearance, rather than purpose – reinforcing a culture of presenteeism, where merely showing up at the office seems to matter more than getting work done.

Bosses admit that RTO policies are just for show

According to research by Indeed, an astonishing 44% of bosses say that being in the office is more about appearance, rather than purpose. The majority of employees are in agreement, with 46% saying their employer treats its RTO policy as a “cure-all to its problems”.

Yet despite this revelation and the amount of backlash, 57% of businesses still plan to get their staff back in the office full-time in less than two years.  

What’s more, 56% of leaders acknowledge that they favour employees who come into the office more often, which can relate to the widespread belief among bosses that physical presence is a key factor in an employee’s chances of getting promoted.

Employees say leadership needs to be on board with flexible working

As part of the Labour government’s employment rights reform, employees will have the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment, under its new Flexible Working Bill.

But despite these promises, most employees don’t believe these will be realised unless leadership is on board as well. While 61% of workers believe the government should strengthen the right to work remotely, half say that government policy wouldn’t change their employers’ attitude to being in the office.

Bosses themselves acknowledge their influence on office attendance as well, with two-thirds (66%) saying that their own presence encourages employees to come in more often, regardless of a company’s official policy.

Most employees aren’t confident about the right to switch off

The right to switch off is also part of Labour’s employment reform pledge – preventing employers from contacting staff outside of working hours, unless under exceptional circumstances. However, most workers aren’t confident that this will be properly enforced, as 49% say they’d still work after hours, even if it became part of the UK’s employment law.

The same percentage of workers say that responding to work-related calls and messages is the norm in their company’s organisational culture. Senior leaders feel the pressure too, with 44% feeling obligated to stay online or still be in the office after hours, even when they’ve completed their work.

All in all, the push for RTO policies seems to be driven more by outdated notions of presenteeism than by genuine efforts to improve productivity and employee engagement – something that is only going to add to The Great Detachment in the UK right now.

While many bosses still value physical presence, employees are pushing for more flexibility, especially as new rights to request flexible working are introduced. Until leadership aligns with these expectations, the gap between policy and practice may continue to strain employee morale and hold back workplace progress.