When it's sweltering, the office often has an extra selling point: good air conditioning.
It's one more factor — however seasonal — in the endless tug-of-war over return-to-office policies.
Beyond the appeal of having someone else pay the AC bill, recent findings on everything from remote workers' loneliness to concerns about the career prospects of early-career employees are keeping the return-to-office debate alive.
Some employers are also tweaking their approaches. UK fintech company Revolut, which has a global, remote-first policy, recently said that interns and participants in its graduate program in 2027 will be expected in the office at least three days a week. A spokesperson told Business Insider that "early stages of a career benefit from in-person collaboration and mentoring."
Earlier this year, productivity company Superhuman dropped its two-day in-office mandate and instead began offering financial incentives tied to office attendance.
For many companies, the RTO challenge remains "trying to figure out what the balance is," said Brad Hershbein, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a think tank.
We want to hear from you! Have you settled into a steady office routine, or is your employer still adjusting its return-to-office expectations?
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Tim reports on the workplace and how forces like automation, artificial intelligence, and remote work will reshape how many of us make a living. Previously, Tim was Business Insider's future-of-business editor where he oversaw coverage of sustainability; diversity, equity, and inclusion issues; the future of work; careers; and C-suite developments. He previously worked in various corporate research roles, in higher ed, and wrote about Wall Street and the stock market for the Associated Press.Contact Tim via email or the encrypted messaging app Signal at tparadis.70.Links to some of his most popular stories:
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