Return to office

What It Means

Return to office, often shortened to RTO, is when an employer requires staff who had been working remotely to come back to the workplace, either full time or on set days each week. A policy that makes it a requirement is usually called an RTO mandate. Each employer writes its own terms, including which days count and who can get an exception.

How People Say It at Work

• "We're back in the office three days a week starting next month."
• "Did your company announce RTO too?"
• "The new mandate adds two commutes to my week."

The Breakdown

Worked example: going from 1 office day to 3

A worker has a 40-mile round trip, 30 minutes each way, a car that gets 25 miles per gallon and gas at $3.50 a gallon. The new policy moves them from 1 office day a week to 3. These are example numbers.

What the number means. This counts gas and driving time only. Parking, transit fares, lunches out and changes to childcare pickup can add to it, so list those next to the total before you plan the month.

The federal order, as one example. On January 20, 2025, a presidential memorandum titled "Return to In-Person Work" directed federal agency heads to end remote workRemote workDoing your job from somewhere other than your employer's workplace, most often from home, for some or all of the workweek. See more arrangements and bring employees back to their duty stations full time. OPM's guidance allowed exceptions for a disability, a qualifying medical condition or another compelling reason certified by the agency head and the employee's supervisor. OPM followed with a revised Guide to Telework and Remote Work in the Federal Government on December 31, 2025.

Questions to ask your employer

• Which days are required, and are they fixed or your choice?
• When does the new schedule start?
• How do you ask for an exception, for example because of a disability or a medical condition?
• Does anything change about parking, equipment or your hours?

Good to Know

The 2025 memorandum covers federal executive agencies, and a private company's return-to-office rules are set by that company. If you need an exception for a disability or a medical condition, ask HR how to request it, and keep a written copy of the request and the answer.

Related Terms and Categories

• Remote work

  Doing your job from somewhere other than your employer's workplace, most often from home, for some or all of the workweek.

• Hybrid work

  A work arrangement that splits the week between working from home and working at the employer's site, such as three office days and two at home.

• Coffee badging

  Slang for going into the office only briefly, long enough to be seen and have a coffee, then leaving to work elsewhere, usually at home.

• Flextime

  A work schedule that lets employees pick their start and finish times within limits, as long as they work the required hours and are there for core hours.

• Core hours

  The fixed part of the workday when everyone on a flexible schedule must be working, with flexible start and finish times on either side.

• Work-life balance

  How your time and energy divide between paid work and the rest of your life, such as family, rest, health and interests.

Work, career and remote life