Beyond attendance: the RTO trust challenge

• Return to office (RTO) is no longer just about showing up – it has become a test of trust between managers and employees. Employers are pushing for more in-office days and stricter oversight. Employees, on the other hand, have become accustomed to flexible work and the work-life balance it enables – and they’re not willing to give it up.

  The outcome is clear: since the start of 2024, office attendance has increased by only 3%, while employer expectations have risen by 12%. Global giants like Amazon, AT&T, Google, and Microsoft have already toughened their on-site policies.

  This widening gap is driving growing tension – and organizations must learn how to navigate it wisely.

Why RTO is becoming a business priority

• The push for physical presence isn’t random – it reflects real business needs and changes in the labor market:

   

• Changes in the tech labor market: Until recently, employees enjoyed significant flexibility. Today, following waves of layoffs and hiring freezes, employers feel more confident requesting in-office attendance, resetting the norms established during the COVID-19 era.

• Building organizational culture: face-to-face interactions foster employee connections, collaborative learning, and the adoption of company values.

• Operational and financial efficiency: returning to the office enables better resource oversight, increased profitability, and optimal use of costly office space.

• Employees, meanwhile, point out that they can remain productive even when working remotely, saving both time and money on commuting, while gaining autonomy and improved work-life balance.

RTO is more complicated than you thought

• The demand to return to the office presents managers with a range of challenges:

Symbolic presence

• Some employees show up only to tick the attendance box: they clock in, grab a coffee, take a brief walk around the office to appear present, and then return home to working remotely. This behavior makes it difficult for managers to know who is actually in the office and when – leading directly to the next challenge:

Aggressive monitoring

• Companies attempting to enforce strict attendance often rely on rigid technological oversight: performance or attendance rating systems (so-called “traffic light” dashboards), Wi-Fi connection tracking, or even linking attendance metrics to bonuses. This approach treats employees as data points, significantly undermines autonomy and trust, and adds unnecessary frustration and administrative burden for managers. Instead of solving problems, it often makes headlines, for example:

Quiet quitting

• Employees who feel over-monitored sometimes adopt a “quiet quitting” mindset: performing only the tasks they are assigned, avoiding additional effort or proactive contributions. This can seriously jeopardize employee retention and engagement.

Showing up without value

• The lack of meaningful reasons to come to the office is a major source of resistance to RTO (Return to Office) policies. Beyond the commute itself, employees who arrive only to join Zoom calls alone, or when their team isn’t present, often leave frustrated and further convinced that working from home is preferable. This frustration is amplified when hybrid workspace management is challenging — with no clear visibility into who is coming, when, and whether the office resources (ergonomic desks, workstations, and other amenities) are sufficient for the team.

Balancing oversight and experience

• A successful RTO happens only when managers combine transparent and efficient oversight with a strong focus on employee experience. The winning formula involves two key elements: making time in the office pleasant and welcoming, and managing attendance and reporting in a clear and accurate way.

Creating an office employees want to come to

• To encourage employees to come into the office, it’s essential to invest both in the workspace design and the overall atmosphere: accessible desks, comfortable workstations, organized meeting rooms, along with small touches that enhance the experience – high-quality coffee with a cookie, weekly happy hours, or team-building activities that strengthen collaboration and team spirit.

Accurate attendance, zero friction

• The solution to RTO challenges lies in a smart attendance reporting system that provides managers with complete certainty while preventing fraudulent attendance entries.

  The following attendance reporting solutions can give managers control and oversight over when and where employees are present – without making monitoring intrusive or burdensome:

• Tablet-based attendance reporting (kiosk): A modern alternative to the classic time clock. Clock-ins and clock-outs are done via a dedicated kiosk app on a workplace tablet, providing reliable and easy-to-access reports.

• Web-based attendance reporting: Employees can log attendance through the browser from approved IP addresses. This option also supports task & project management without affecting employees’ privacy.

• GPS-based time tracking app: Allows employees to report their work hours from anywhere, with pre-defined reporting location restrictions. Managers see the logins location and gain tools for task management, all while preserving the team’s autonomy.

Control and trust in perfect harmony

• Organizations need solutions that provide a complete overview while maintaining employees’ sense of autonomy and trust. The Meckano time & attendance system offers a variety of attendance reporting solutions, alongside smart tools for transparent and accurate tracking of attendance, performance, and productivity.

  Multiple reporting solutions can be integrated simultaneously across different work sites, consolidating all attendance data directly within the Meckano system.

  Want to see how returning to the office can be smooth, efficient, and convenient for both employees and managers? Explore Meckano’s solutions.