How RTO Went From Being About ‘Where’ To ‘When’ For Employees

Flexibility is the name of the game.

Employees have changed the ever-evolving “return to office” (RTO) narrative from not being about where to work but when, causing employers to step up their management game, Fortune reports.

Data from commercial real-estate company JLL’s Workforce Preference Barometer 2025 revealed employees have no problem with RTO, but more so with the amount of time required. The change highlights the shift between employee priorities, with work–life balance take precedent over salary.

Sixty-five percent of survey respondents, in comparison to 59% in 2022, have employees seeking “management of time over place” but only 49% of workers have the luxury of flexible hours.

Management expert and New York University professor Suzy Welch warns the RTO shift will challenge employers to find a cure to continuous burnout.

“We believed that if you worked hard, you were rewarded for it. And so this is the disconnect,” she said. “Gen Z thinks, ‘Yeah, I watched what happened to my parents’ career, and I watched what happened to my older sister’s career, and they worked very hard, and they still got laid off.’”

Between Welch and JLL, the closing argument is that there is no need to give up too much time because employees won’t get anything in return.

There is a name for those fighting against returning to the cubicle: “non-compliers”.

Data describe them as being between ages 30 and 34, living in North America, and holding managerial roles. JLL said the group’s stance is driven by personal constraints over simply not wanting to be in the office. Since many are caregivers who feel constraints are “poorly understood and supported at work,” they do what’s best for them.

“Their non-compliance is less a rejection than a calculated decision based on their sense of empowerment,” the study reported.

Globally and stateside, employer have seen pushback from forced RTO. Media conglomerate Paramount received a massive number of resignations in November 2025 after the company announced plans to bring staffers back in person to the office five days a week.