Quid Pro RTO: Will Raises to Return Be All the Rage?

A web company that lets people hire celebrities for virtual visits made its own pay-for-play move to get their own employees back in the office. Earlier this year, Cameo required roughly two dozen employees to return to its Chicago-area office four days a week — but offered them a $10,000 annual raise in return. Every eligible employee accepted the deal and chose to return, according to published reports.

As employers in the United States and abroad continue weighing return-to-office (RTO) mandates, the question is whether cash can help lessen the sting or sweeten the deal. Surveys, including one by human capital software firm Ringover, suggest workers have an interest in bonuses and salary increases as an incentive to return to the office — or even pay cuts in exchange for the ability to stay remote.

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Beyond headline-grabbing examples like Cameo, few employers are paying premiums for physical presence, choosing instead to focus on less tangible benefits. Only 5% of organizations provide additional compensation for office attendance, and even fewer (3%) are considering this practice, according to November 2024 Korn Ferry data representing more than 7,500 employers.

“This seems that it could be a slippery slope for organizations to consider,” said Korn Ferry senior client partner Tom McMullen. “I think the enticement back to the office should be about the value around being in the office — improved development, collaboration, networking.”

Money Matters

With higher pay driving worker expectations and job searches, it’s not surprising that it does weigh on attitudes toward RTO. Ringover’s 2024 survey of 1,038 U.S. working adults found that an average annual pay raise of $7,500 would make nearly half (48%) of them willing to return, with men more influenced by cash than women (53% to 46%). Even more — 8 out of 10 — would take an offer if their employer covered commuting costs. A similar study by LiveCareer found 37% would return to on-site work for a pay raise of at least 15%.

Conversely, significant numbers of workers would take a pay cut to remain remote, according to a Harvard Business School survey of 2,000 U.S. workers. Forty percent of workers would be willing to accept a pay cut of 5% or more to keep their remote job, and 21% would accept cuts of 10% or more. Workers who teleworked before the pandemic were more likely to accept pay cuts than those who had not.

These trends may shift in the face of economic uncertainty. However, that doesn’t mean mandates will become any more popular, said Alicia Scott-Wears, a compensation content director at WorldatWork.

“Right now, employers may feel they have the upper hand [in the employer-employee relationship] due to a cooling labor market and slowed hiring,” Scott-Wears said. “But the way organizations approach this effort will have lasting effects on company culture and employee trust.”

‘Sending a Signal’

For organizations exploring pay for presence, it’s important to be thoughtful, Scott-Wears said.

“Tying compensation to in-office presence sends a strong signal about company priorities,” she said. “Done thoughtfully, it can potentially reinforce a culture of collaboration and engagement. However, if not positioned and implemented carefully, it can feel more like a punitive measure than an investment in workplace culture.”

The first step is to listen, said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at LiveCareer. “Instead of rolling out general RTO mandates, survey your employees about how they’re working, their productivity levels, and how they’re feeling about being remote and returning to the office,” she said. “Within that, you can start to package [incentives] as what would be helpful and beneficial. You don’t want to implement them and [find] they don’t help people feel any better.”

When calculating what — and how much — to offer, the goal is to “create something you feel is enticing to the greatest number of employees,” Escalera said. Consider framing pay increases as a way of helping support additional commuting and childcare costs, she added, noting that for some workers, “no incentive is going to be enough.”

It’s also important to consider salary equity issues involving workers who never left the office — or who can’t return. Otherwise, bonuses could “exacerbate inequities, particularly for caregivers or employees with disabilities who face barriers to returning in person,” Scott-Wears said.

And, consider non-cash enticements, including in-person team meetings, education opportunities, special guests or speakers — even free lunch, according to McMullen. Flexibility can also play a role — the LiveCareer survey found nearly as many employees would be enticed by a four-day workweek as a 15% pay raise (35% to 37%).

Making It Pay Off

Any investment in RTO will only be worthwhile if the culture supports it. Scott-Wears cautioned against inadvertently emphasizing “presenteeism” — “where people show up to be seen rather than to produce meaningful work,” she explained.

“The companies that get it right will be the ones that align their workplace policies with long-term engagement rather than short-term compliance,” Scott-Wears said.

Providing opportunities for in-person collaboration, team building, mentorship, career development and professional recognition are essential parts of a healthy in-person culture, according to Escalera.

“These are all things you have to do anyway, but especially when you transition back to the office,” she said. “RTO can be an opportunity to generate excitement and assess what we have, what we need and create a space where people walk in and say, ‘This isn’t so bad.’”

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