The world of work cannot seem to move past a debate that grows more divisive each day: is embracing hybrid and partial work from home (WFH) as the ‘new normal’ the way forward, or should we enforce a full Return to Office (RTO) by mandate? While headlines often focus on RTO, the reality is more nuanced. This article explores what the data really says about workplace trends, the pitfalls of space planning without evidence, and how measuring utilisation can give organisations a strategic edge – regardless of which side of the debate they’re on. 

RTO & Hybrid: Media Headlines vs Reality

Team RTO receives most of the spotlight. Since the start of the year, headlines have been dominated by a hard RTO push. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is one of the best-known advocates of the five-day office mandate, announced in September 2024 and effective January 2025. Furthermore, some companies are even linking pay and promotions to office attendance, effectively turning presence into a performance metric.

But are these trends truly representative of the wider workforce? Are we really moving back to pre-pandemic office patterns? The answer appears more complex. 

Worktech Academy recently questioned whether a “false narrative” has been created around RTO, citing research by Professor Nick Bloom of Stanford University. Bloom’s US-based studies show that working from home has held steady at around 25% of the working week (about 1.3 days) since 2023. Other data sources, including mobile location and swipe card data, support this trend. Bloom’s conclusion: hybrid working is here to stay. 

UK research from the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London and King’s Business School echoes these findings, with no evidence of a mass return to offices and remote working rates stable since 2022. Forty percent of workers reported working remotely at least once a week, including 25% who worked remotely three or more days a week. Worryingly, over half of them would look for a new job or quit immediately if their current employer tried to make them work from the office full-time. 

This disconnect raises a key question: should we be listening to the data more closely? 

The Aftermath of the Great Office Shrinkage 

Amazon’s RTO plans have already encountered practical problems, such as shortages of desks and parking spaces, leading to delays in some locations. Meanwhile across the corporate world, the ‘meeting room shuffle’– caused by insufficient meeting rooms or poorly AV equipped communal spaces – has become a leading source of stress. 

These issues often stem from aggressive cuts to office space during and after the pandemic. Now, the lack of space is hampering efforts to bring people back to the office more regularly.  

Crucially, these problems are preventable if organisations base their decisions on current, accurate data rather than assumptions. 

Case Studies: Measuring Utilisation in Action 

A growing number of UnWork’s clients are turning to utilisation data to inform their workplace strategies. However, transforming raw data into actionable insights is not always straightforward. 

For example, a large financial institution sought our help to validate scenarios for collocating several teams on a single floor of a UK high-rise. We modelled different policies (three, four, or five days in the office) based on current desk usage and various sharing ratios. This not only enabled the client to see which scenarios met desk requirements, but also to anticipate future employee needs and behaviours. 

Similarly, we supported a global technology company in developing a robust data framework to measure meeting room utilisation anonymously across their entire portfolio. The challenge was integrating multiple data streams – badge-in data, network activity, room bookings, to name but a few – while ensuring accuracy and privacy. We helped them answer questions such as: Are there enough small meeting rooms? Which rooms are overbooked or frequently ‘ghosted’ (booked but not used)? By assessing the accuracy and granularity of each data source, we clarified the narrative: how often employees use office spaces, and what their current and future needs might be. 

Why Measuring Utilisation Matters

These case studies highlight both the complexity and the value of understanding utilisation data. As hybrid work becomes the norm and office footprints shrink, measuring how spaces are used is essential.

Accurate utilisation data helps organisations understand employee behaviours and needs, optimise space costs, and – perhaps most importantly – improve the employee experience. Ultimately, this leads to greater productivity.

Perhaps it’s time to move beyond the RTO versus WFH debate and focus on understanding and optimising the employee experience, no matter how often staff come to the office. Utilisation data provides a genuine strategic advantage for both camps.

Office Vibrancy as a Metric of Success

Yet, as we look to the future, forward-thinking organisations are evolving beyond the aim of simply ‘filling seats’. Increasingly, they recognise that the true measure of workplace success may be the vibrancy of the office environment itself. Vibrancy goes beyond numbers, capturing the energy, diversity of spaces, and quality of interactions that make an office genuinely engaging. While quantitative data on occupancy and utilisation provide a foundation, qualitative aspects such as employee feedback and the atmosphere created by team dynamics are equally important.

Ultimately, the most successful workplaces will be those that not only optimise space but also foster environments where people feel energised, connected, and inspired to do their best work.