To Return to the Office Full-Time, Go Hybrid, or Choose Remote Work

Employers who grappled with how employees worked remotely during COVID-19 are now faced with new challenges in their attempts to return to working at the office. 

Your company may want to return to the office full-time, five days a week. The reality is that in an office environment, we have few arguments that work cannot be performed remotely. Despite many employers’ desire to return to the office, remote work arrangements have become a permanent fixture in the modern workplace. 

For those debating a return-to-the-office edict, they should consider which scenario works best — a fully remote model, a hybrid schedule, or occasional telecommuting. 

Policy: In-Office, Remote, and Hybrid Work Arrangements

Avoid Common Pitfalls

To maintain productivity, compliance, and a healthy work culture, you need to understand best practices and the pitfalls to avoid. Many employers are demanding a return to the office as a means to avoid disciplining employees who are underperforming because of the distractions in a remote work environment — whether that be childcare or other personal obligations. These underperformance issues will not be resolved by a return to the office; employees should be held accountable whether they are working in person or remotely. 

Before determining which of the scenarios works best for your company and then how to address enforcement of such a policy, you need to decide why such a policy works for your company. Simply demanding a return to the office for no apparent reason will create HR headaches and compliance concerns. There are good reasons to require in-office work, such as team building, productivity, and state law tax issues. 

Article: Resolving Tax-Filing Issues for Remote Workers

However, it should not simply because “we say so,” as employees will push back. Yes, your employees are at will, but you will find yourself grappling with numerous claimed reasons to work remotely. You want to carefully plan a return-to-office policy that fits your corporate culture, minimizes legal risk, maintains morale and retains talent. 

Given that remote work is here to stay, you should retain flexibility in the policy. Consider whether a phased approach, hybrid schedules, or role-based flexibility can achieve business objectives while reducing attrition and legal exposure. Employers that offer some degree of choice tend to experience smoother transitions and stronger retention outcomes.

Three Steps

The first step is to review any barriers to remote work. Review and assess any employment agreements, collective bargaining agreements, and policies that may require attention before rolling out a new plan. 

Before you draft a new policy, you will want to craft your talking points about the changes early and clearly. Many employees have relied on remote work in ways that cannot be quickly fixed. They may have childcare arrangements based on remote work, or they may not have reliable transportation during their work hours. Therefore, transparency is critical. 

You want to provide as much notice as possible concerning the change in returning to work and explain the “why.” Unlike many other policies that we may change without much notice or explanation, this one requires a clear communication plan. Managers and supervisors should be brought in early so they can reinforce such policies with employees. 

The second step is to draft a policy that meets that clear communication plan and sets forth clear expectations and explanations. No policy can address every situation. An effective policy will inform employees of what the policy is for full-time in the office, hybrid arrangements, and how such hybrid schedules are determined. 

The policy needs to include a defined process for requesting exceptions, including:

• Who has authority to grant exceptions (for example, direct manager, HR, a designated committee).
• What qualifies as a basis for an exception (for example, medical need, caregiving emergency, approved business travel).
• How long exceptions last and when they must be renewed.
• How denied requests can be escalated.

A transparent exception process reduces ad hoc decision-making and protects against claims of favoritism or discrimination. The policy should also explain the consequences of the failure to meet the expectations — meaning what will cause disciplinary action and what that discipline will be.

The third step is the plan for pushback which is why you have a policy that sets forth the process for exceptions. No matter how clearly you communicate the plan and the reasons for the return to the office, you will have employees who look for ways around the plan. These may involve accommodation requests. You must be prepared to engage in the interactive process for identifying an accommodation with employees seeking to continue to work remotely based on disability, religious reasons, pregnancy and other reasons. Having a clear rationale for the return to the office will make these discussions go more smoothly. 

In assessing any accommodation requests, you should evaluate whether the position can be performed fully remote and/or whether there are accommodations that would enable the employee to return. As with all accommodation requests there is no bright-line answer that will fit all situations. You will need to make separate assessments for each based on the accommodation request itself and the employee’s role and responsibilities. 

Employers have the freedom to require employees to return to the office, but the legal and practical landscape demands a thoughtful approach. A transition with a hybrid work schedule can often be a good way to strike a balance and prepare employees for their return-to-the-office environment. 

Carrie Hoffman is an attorney with Foley & Lardner in Dallas. She is a speaker at LEAP Employment Law Conference, In Partnership With SHRM, which will be held on March 31-April 2, 2027, in Las Vegas.