The eternal return-to-office debate shows no signs of cooling off, but it is evolving. When the conversation is stuck in extremes, it leaves little room for meaningful dialogue between candidates and employers.

When you’ve got disengaged employees on one side and hard-to-fill roles on the other, a nuanced discussion should be on the cards.

While it’s not a candidate-led market in the traditional sense, increasing demand for specialised talent, leaner budgets, and a whole lotta decision paralysis make for a tricky hiring environment.

Here are the prevailing pros and cons (and our recommendations for bridging the communication gap).

Returning to the office

There are plenty of distinct benefits to the office return, some rooted in positivity, and others, not so much (proximity bias anyone?). In the sectors we support – technology, advanced tech, regulation – we’re seeing some real upsides to being in the room together, including:

  • Clearer cultural signals – healthy and supportive work cultures can translate to remote teams, but they’re often built and reinforced in person.

  • Clear boundaries – It can be tough to switch off when you’re working in your personal space, as 2020’s working generation knows all too well. The physical separation can help draw clearer lines between you and your work.

  • Easier access to leadership – on-the-spot feedback is often harder to come by in remote settings, making mentorship and career development opportunities feel less organic. In-person working tends to give people more visibility with decision-makers, creating space for informal coaching and real-time recognition.

  • Smoother communication between functions (collaboration!) – today’s leaner tech teams need to be agile, and that typically means collaborating across functions. On-site working tends to result in tighter feedback loops and faster access to the right people.

  • Slower maturity curves – in-person exposure to tooling, codebases, team dynamics, and senior engineers often accelerates professional development, especially for junior talent and new hires.

Of course, these benefits don’t look the same for the whole workforce, particularly among younger generations of talent. As reported by People Management, only one in ten Gen Z workers want to be in the office full-time.

While only a small percentage prefer to work fully remotely, the majority favour hybrid or mostly remote models. It’s a reminder that the remote work conversation isn’t all about choosing sides.

Full-time work isn’t the default anymore, and there’s a good chance that rigid office policies will create even more division.

Agility is the word of the hour

Whether that’s agile teams, operating models, tech stacks, strategies, or remote working policies, capturing value in fast-moving markets requires flexible, adaptable decision-making.

We’re seeing this especially across areas like cloud and infrastructure recruitment, GTM, and specialist hiring in AI and data.

The office is still valuable. It just needs to earn its place in the bigger picture.

So what now?

Intentionality is key. Office time can be incredibly valuable, provided it’s designed with purpose, not habit.

If your lease is to blame for the RTO trend (like it is for a reported 1 in 3 employers), then don’t let the space drive the strategy. The office is the backdrop to your culture, not the culture itself.

If you’re hiring in highly specialised areas like AI, compliance, or advanced tech, that flexibility isn’t optional; it’s expected. These candidates aren’t making decisions based on ping pong tables, they’re looking for autonomy, impact, and an environment that lets them get on with the work.

Conversations around remote working are likely to get even more complex in the months ahead. Whether we're looking at Data recruitment for backline impact hires, Cloud & Infrastructure recruitment for multi-national transformation projects, or the ever-changing software engineering recruitment space, pinpointing the right talent requires an intricate game plan. 

At Trust in SODA, it’s our job to help bridge the communication gaps and help people navigate difficult conversations on their journey to more meaningful work.

Feel free to reach out directly if you’d like specialist support: Lesedi@trustinsoda.com