Return to Office with Intention:

What Leaders, Organizations, and Employees

Are Asking (and Doing) Now

The return-to-office (RTO) conversation has moved far beyond “Are we remote or in-person?” Leaders, organizations, and employees are now wrestling with the deeper questions:

What’s the real purpose of being in the office?
How do we balance flexibility and productivity without losing culture?
And how do we make it fair when different teams work in different ways?

These questions—and the creative strategies to answer them—were front and center in a recent BridgeWorks Community Conversation with CEO Phil Gwoke and Dan O’Brien, Senior Director & Culture of Inclusion Leader at RSM.

Generations Are Redefining the RTO Playbook

The workplace has shifted dramatically: Millennials now make up the largest share of the workforce, and Gen Z has officially surpassed Baby Boomers in active workforce population for the first time. But the surprises don’t stop there:

Gallup data shows Gen Z is the least likely to want to be fully remote or fully on-site—they crave a hybrid balance.
Millennials are the generation most likely to leave if remote work is taken off the table.

Interestingly, some of RSM’s strongest pushes for in-office connection have come from younger professionals—those who started their careers during the pandemic and are hungry for mentorship, growth, and a sense of belonging.

Flexibility Is No Longer a Perk—it’s a Value Proposition

RSM has offered flexibility for decades, well before COVID made it mainstream. They know flexibility drives engagement, loyalty, and productivity.

Their approach:

Formal flexibility: Clear agreements on schedule changes, role adjustments, or location shifts.
Informal flexibility: Everyday understanding between leaders and teams to meet people where they are.

The lesson for leaders: Your RTO plan isn’t just a schedule—it’s a value proposition. Employees want to know: If I come in, what do I get that I can’t get at home?

Culture is Everyone’s Job

At RSM, culture is built both through programs (objective culture) and behaviors (subjective culture). They’ve applied Dr. Tim Clark’s Psychological Safety Framework to measure team health in four areas:

Inclusion safety
Learner safety
Contributor safety
Challenger safety (freedom to question the status quo)

Culture isn’t HR’s job alone. Leaders set the tone, but every employee shapes it—whether they’re mentoring, engaging with colleagues, or taking part in intentional team activities.

Equity in Hybrid Work

One of the toughest RTO challenges? Avoiding the “Why do they get to work from home when I can’t?” spiral.

The key is to:

Be transparent about why different teams have different schedules.
Engage employees in the conversation before setting policies.
Make sure your culture-building activities include everyone, regardless of work location.

Questions Worth Asking in Your Organization

Before you revisit (or reinforce) your RTO approach, ask:

What’s our “in-office value proposition”?
Are our leaders modeling the culture we want?
How do we make flexibility fair, transparent, and tied to business goals?
Are we recognizing and rewarding the behaviors we want more of?

BridgeWorks + RSM

This conversation wasn’t just two experts trading ideas—it was the continuation of a deep, multi-year partnership between BridgeWorks and RSM.

RSM, the fifth-largest professional services firm in the U.S., serves clients in more than 120 countries with a team of over 57,000 people worldwide. Specializing in audit, tax, and consulting for middle-market companies, RSM operates on a foundation of relationships, inclusion, and industry-leading expertise.

BridgeWorks has collaborated with RSM for years to weave generational insights into their award-winning culture initiatives. Together, we’ve co-created strategies that help leaders at every level navigate the “where,” “how,” and “why” of work—ensuring flexibility, inclusion, and performance go hand-in-hand in offices (and home offices) around the globe.

Further Resources

If you’re looking to dig deeper into strategies and stats mentioned in the conversation:

Why BridgeWorks Exists — and How We Can Help You

Since 1998, BridgeWorks has been the leading voice in generational insights, helping organizations navigate the complexities of a multi-generational workforce. Our mission is simple yet powerful: We power potential by cultivating meaningful human connections.

You may have seen us present dynamic keynotes or workshops at conferences and workplaces around the world, or perhaps you’ve read one of our bestselling books on generational dynamics. We empower leaders and teams to embrace generational differences, leverage strengths, and build bridges that foster collaboration and innovation.