Large organisations are now twice as likely as the smallest firms to enforce return-to-office (RTO) policies, signalling a shift in workplace expectations even as hybrid models remain the preferred choice for many employees, new research suggests.
According to a report by sales software firm Pipedrive released on Wednesday, 8 percent of large firms now require staff back in the office, compared with 4 percent of micro-companies. Despite this, 57 percent of employees still work in hybrid arrangements, one in five are fully remote and a third say they are more productive outside the office.
The report shows a strong relationship between job satisfaction and results. Staff who are very satisfied with their work model achieve 69 percent of sales targets, while those who are very dissatisfied reach only 29 percent.
Hybrid and four-day week schedules show the highest satisfaction levels. Workers on four-day weeks rated their work-life balance at 4.10 out of five, with 69 percent saying productivity improved. But mismatches in preference can impact performance as employees required to work remotely despite preferring the office hit only 40 percent of their sales targets last year.
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Overtime also appears ineffective. While three-quarters of employees said they work beyond their contracted hours, those sticking to standard hours were more likely to hit their goals.
AI and flexibility form a new performance foundation
Sales performance across the sector has dipped, with just 57 percent of professionals hitting their targets in 2024, the lowest in five years. However, companies combining flexible models with artificial intelligence tools are seeing better outcomes.
More than a third of sales staff and four in 10 marketers have adopted AI, particularly for content generation, lead scoring and material summaries. Among users, 74 percent report improved productivity and half report stronger performance. Two-thirds say AI saves them up to five hours a week.
Younger workers are leading adoption, with those aged 18 to 25 twice as likely to use AI compared with over-65s and report better work-life balance as a result.
“The old formula of longer hours for greater results is broken,” said Sean Evers, vice president of sales and partner at Pipedrive. “Today, teams must have the tools, autonomy and trust they need to thrive in a very different working and economic environment. AI and working flexibility are the new foundation for high performance. But technology alone is not the cure for burnout; leadership must prioritise well-being and sustainable productivity to nurture the human talent at the heart of high performing businesses.”
Evers said his company had experienced “great leaps and bounds in pro-flexible policy in the UK, with the Flexible Working Act mandating that companies ‘must consider flexible working requests in a reasonable manner’”.
He added that the “research revealed that those who are very satisfied with current work models is about twice as high among those working mainly or fully remotely compared to those working fully on-site. For enterprise teams, presenteeism in the office is not working. Hybridity, alongside strategic AI adoption, will prove the drivers for modern business”.
Practical strategies for employers navigating hybrid and RTO
Experts suggest that employers can avoid the pitfalls of rigid RTO mandates by:
- Focusing on performance outcomes rather than office attendance
- Gathering employee feedback before changing work arrangements
- Introducing office days gradually to prevent disengagement
- Ensuring hybrid frameworks are clearly structured and communicated
- Addressing proximity bias by linking promotions to results, not presence
- Using mentoring and digital collaboration tools to support career development
- Taking steps to prevent overwork, given the lack of correlation between long hours and results
Balancing flexibility and business objectives
Independent research reinforces the scale of resistance to rigid office requirements. Surveys by King’s Business School show that less than half of UK workers would agree to return to the office five days a week, down from more than half three years ago. The share of employees prepared to quit if forced back full-time has doubled, with women and parents among the most resistant.
Academics recommend formalising hybrid policies, investing in remote work technology and coordinating office attendance strategically to preserve collaboration while protecting work-life balance.
Return-to-office mandates are becoming more common among large companies, but hybrid and remote models continue to drive satisfaction, productivity and retention, observers say. Employers are being urged to combine flexibility with investment in technology, employee input and cultural change if they want to sustain performance in a shifting workplace landscape.
