Companies Gauge Impact of Return to Office

Quick Hits

• Remote work and hybrid work remain a growing trend.
• Some employers, including federal agencies, have implemented return-to-work policies during the last two years.
• Employers with a return-to-work policy may want to measure its ongoing impact on employee retention, recruitment, and productivity.

In many industries, remote and hybrid work increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. After the pandemic subsided, some employers announced new policies requiring all workers to return to the office four or five days per week. On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to end remote work and order federal employees to be present in the office five days per week.

Some employers and managers hoped a return to the office would increase productivity, strengthen the corporate culture, and promote collaboration and innovation. Did the return-to-work policy bring the intended results, or did it have unintended consequences for employers and employees?

A 2023 survey from Unispace found that 42 percent of employers that mandated a return to the office experienced higher than normal turnover, and 29 percent had a harder time recruiting employees. Productivity increased at workplaces where the use of remote work increased, even before the pandemic, according to a 2024 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 31 percent of U.S. employees were engaged at work in 2024, up from 26 percent in 2000, according to a Gallup survey.

Many employees like remote work because it eliminates their commuting time and costs, like gas and parking. The time that would have been spent commuting can be spent on work-related tasks. Remote work also gives employees greater flexibility and time to handle personal and family matters, like medical appointments and school meetings.

For employers, remote work may increase employee retention and widen the talent pool for hiring. It also may lower spending on office space, utilities, commuter benefits, and office supplies. Likewise, it may lower payroll costs because some workers will accept a lower salary for a remote position that offers better work-life balance.

Common Legal Issues With Remote and Return-to-Office Work

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accommodation Challenges: Employers face potential disability discrimination claims when mandating office returns for employees with qualifying disabilities who request remote work as a reasonable accommodation. Failure to engage in the interactive process before applying return-to-work policies to employees with disabilities can create legal liability.

Discrimination Concerns: As with most other employment decisions, selectively applied return-to-office mandates might create a perception of favoritism or unfairness, potentially creating discrimination claims based on race, gender, age, disability, and other protected characteristics.

Compensation Equity Issues: Different pay structures for remote versus in-office employees, or employees working in diverse geographic regions, may create pay equity complications or discrimination claims.

Pay Transparency Compliance Issues: An increasingly complex web of state and local pay transparency laws mandate disclosure of salary ranges in job postings or by request from current employees. Some laws require disclosure in the jurisdiction if the job could be filled by a remote worker or if the worker will perform work at a location in the jurisdiction. Complying with these laws in the context of hybrid or remote work requires careful planning.

Productivity Measurement Liability: Methods used to monitor remote versus in-office productivity could create privacy or discrimination issues if not applied consistently.

Travel Time and Expense Reimbursement: A hybrid work arrangement can give rise to complexities regarding travel time for nonexempt employees, particularly where there may be ambiguity regarding whether travel counts as commuting time or on-the-clock travel time. Moreover, in some states where expense reimbursement is required for use of personal devices, internet service, and the like, ambiguities may arise with hybrid schedules allowing employees to work remotely on a flexible schedule.

Next Steps

Employers may wish to measure the impact of return-to-work policies on productivity, recruiting, retention, payroll, and other overhead costs. This can be accomplished with employee engagement surveys, accounting software, and gathering data on cost per hire, time to hire, and turnover rates in various corporate departments and locations.

Among other compliance steps, employers may want to consider:

• Developing and consistently following written standards regarding remote, hybrid, or in-office work location obligations.
• Implementing a consistent, documented interactive process for employees requesting remote work accommodations.
• Reviewing compensation practices and conducting pay equity audits.
• Mapping out pay transparency laws and complying with state and local mandates.
• Developing clear metrics to measure productivity, regardless of work location.
• Reviewing policies to ensure they don’t create unintended discriminatory impacts.
• Creating clear guidelines about reimbursable remote work expenses.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Return to Work blog as new information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ New Administration Resource Hub.

Christopher W. Olmsted is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ San Diego office.

This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.

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