Return-to-Office Fatigue: What Can You Do To Make It Worth It?

The office kitchen is stocked, desks are booked, and HR emails remind everyone of the “collaboration benefits” of being back in person. Yet as employees trickle in, the energy feels flat. Conversations stay surface-level. Slack still carries the real discussions. People leave at 5pm sharp, wondering why they bothered with the commute.

This is return-to-office fatigue. In 2021, people missed colleagues. In 2025, the novelty has worn off—and so has the patience for pointless presenteeism.

If showing up feels meaningless, what can leaders do to make the office worth it again?

The Return-to-Office Push

Companies spent 2023 and 2024 trying to coax people back into offices with kombucha taps, free lunches, and branded tote bags. By 2025, many gave up on persuasion and moved to mandates.

It worked—sort of. Office occupancy rose, but so did employee dissatisfaction. Return-to-office fatigue set in. People came back physically but not mentally. Presence alone didn’t spark collaboration, creativity, or culture.

As Larry Prince, a leadership advisor, observes, in-person time should be purposeful. “Leadership is a contact sport and requires direct eyeball to eyeball interaction at key times,” he says. Planning meetings to elevate teams and strengthen relationships makes the commute worthwhile.

This week, ask yourself: what makes your office commute-worthy?

Return-to-office mandates may get bodies in seats. But if the goal is better work—not just visible workers—the office has to offer something employees can’t get at home.

Why the Office Fails to Inspire

Mandates may fill seats, but they rarely fill them with energy. The problem isn’t the office itself—it’s what happens inside it.

Liviu Tanase, founder of ZeroBounce, doesn’t enforce strict return-to-office policies. Employees come in by choice—some once a week, others more often. The main draw? Human connection. “One thing that’s made a big difference: we added a couch and a coffee table in reception. That space feels more inviting now,” he says. People gather there or in the kitchen simply to talk. For Tanase, the office works when it feels welcoming.

It transforms the office from a place you go into, to a place where you get something out of

Ben Foster, CEO of The SEO Works, blends flexibility with structure. His team has an all-office day mid-week each month to align on company updates, plus a mandatory day each week for individual teams to work together in person. “The buzz in the office when everyone is all in together is incredible,” he says. Cultural events, from bake sales to quarterly socials, add warmth beyond work tasks.

Offices fail when they ignore this basic truth: people want purpose, connection, and belonging—not just proximity.

Small Shifts That Make a Big Difference

If offices want to overcome return-to-office fatigue, they don’t need extravagant perks. They need small, thoughtful changes that signal intention.

At Lilac HR, Director Shona Hamilton focuses on atmosphere. “We make sure the office space looks and feels good,” she says. Wax melts provide a fresh scent, posh coffee replaces instant, and a reading corner with industry books offers quiet inspiration. The goal is simple: make the environment so comfortable and vibey that people want to be there.

Jennifer Maxson highlights the power of informal moments. “Trust and connection happen in the moments between meetings, over lunch conversations and coffee breaks,” she says. Creating core schedules and clear expectations for availability ensures those spontaneous interactions remain possible.

For Sally Bendtson, the secret is anchoring in-office time to events. Her team maps out “commute-worthy moments” across the year—food truck Fridays, bake-offs, or awareness day celebrations. “Tying in-office time to shared experiences builds connection and gives the day real energy and purpose,” she says.

Kate Davis has seen clients reinstate offices as the default while keeping flexibility. They didn’t rely on perks alone but improved culture deliberately. Better coffee, bring-your-dog days, and occasional office lunches complemented redesigning workflows to make in-person collaboration meaningful. “The return to office worked because people understood the purpose and noticed the work—and the way they felt doing it—genuinely improved,” she notes.

Finally, Mark Goldfinger from Mindspace designs what he calls “Mindspace Moments”—curated experiences like founder fireside chats, surprise espresso bars, or wellness workshops. “It transforms the office from a place you go into, to a place where you get something out of,” he says.

Rethinking “Office Worth” in 2025

Return-to-office fatigue is not a rebellion against work. It is a rejection of environments that drain more than they give. The past three years have taught employees that productivity is possible anywhere. What they crave now is meaning.

The office is not dead. Bad offices are. Those designed solely for oversight or as a relic of tradition will continue to feel empty, no matter how many mandates are issued.

What makes the commute worthwhile is not free kombucha or ping-pong tables, but experiences that foster belonging, learning, and trust. As contributor after contributor noted, it is the small, intentional moments—shared breakfasts, inviting spaces, curated events—that make people feel their presence matters.

The equation is simple: does being here make my work, my ideas, or my relationships better? If the answer is yes, the office will thrive. If not, no enforcement policy will sustain its relevance.

In 2025, office worth is measured not by occupancy rates but by what people take away when they leave at the end of the day. This week, ask yourself: what makes your office commute-worthy?