Magnet Not Mandate: Why People Only Return to Offices That Earn Their Attendance

One of the most common mistakes organizations make is assuming that attendance is something you can enforce. You can certainly mandate presence, and for a short period, people will comply. But compliance isn’t commitment. It doesn’t create energy, connection or performance. It creates quiet resentment and a countdown to the moment people slip back into old patterns.

A workplace built on pressure never sustains momentum. A workplace built on value always does.

The truth is straightforward: people return to offices that help them do better work. They avoid offices that make their work harder. And in a hybrid world where employees now have a genuine alternative, the workplace must justify the commute. It must give people something that cannot be replicated at home.

This is the difference between workplaces that thrive and workplaces that stagnate. One asks, “How do we get people back?” The other asks, “Why would they come in?”

Only the second question leads to progress.

Why mandates don’t change behavior

When leaders lean on mandates, they usually do so out of frustration. Attendance isn’t meeting expectations. Culture feels thin. Collaboration feels remote. And the instinctive solution becomes an instruction rather than an inquiry.

But mandates use the wrong lever. They address the symptom—low attendance—rather than the system that created it. They create short-term spikes and long-term disengagement. And most importantly, they reinforce the idea that the office is a place of obligation rather than a place of value.

People comply with mandates, but they don’t reshape their work around them. They show up physically while mentally remaining elsewhere. They sit in the same meetings they could have joined remotely. They continue to schedule work the same way they do at home. In short, mandates result in presence without purpose.

A workplace without purpose cannot become a magnet.

What magnetic workplaces have in common

Magnetic offices are not flashy, expensive or trendy. They are simply places where the work people need to do is made easier, richer and more enjoyable by being there. They feel intentional rather than incidental.

When people walk into a magnetic workplace, they experience immediacy—conversations happen more naturally, decisions move faster, teams gain alignment, and problems get solved with less effort. Momentum builds through proximity. People leave feeling that the day mattered.

And critically, the workplace removes friction. The basics work. Hybrid meetings aren’t a battle with technology. Quiet spaces are genuinely quiet. Collaboration areas feel like they were designed for collaboration, not improvised. Neighborhoods create predictability. The office feels like a functioning system, not a collection of compromises.

Magnetic workplaces don’t demand enthusiasm. They generate it.

The psychology behind choice

One of the most overlooked elements of hybrid working is the shift in psychology around autonomy. For decades, the workplace was chosen for employees. The decision belonged to the organization. Hybrid flipped that dynamic. Now employees choose where they work based on what feels most productive, supportive and meaningful.

This shift is not about entitlement. It’s about optimization. People want to work well. They want to perform. They want clarity, connection and momentum. They aren’t avoiding the office because they are unwilling to work—they are avoiding offices that don’t help them work effectively.

When the workplace aligns with what people value—connection, collaboration, progress, access to colleagues, visibility, ease—attendance becomes natural. When it doesn’t, people retreat to environments where they have more control.

Choice doesn’t weaken attendance. A poor workplace does.

The importance of predictability

Magnetic workplaces feel predictable. People know when their team will be present. They know where their colleagues sit. They know how hybrid meetings run. They know where to go for focus work and where to go for discussion. They know what kind of day they’ll have before they even arrive.

This kind of predictability doesn’t restrict flexibility; it supports it. People can plan meaningful in-office days because the workplace has a rhythm. When teams establish clear agreements about how they work—how often they meet in person, how they communicate, how they collaborate—attendance becomes structured rather than sporadic. And structured attendance creates connection, which in turn creates engagement.

Predictability doesn’t just improve the workplace. It restores trust in it.

Design as a magnet

The workplace becomes a magnet when it reflects the work people actually do. In hybrid environments, that typically means less emphasis on rows of desks and more emphasis on spaces that naturally draw people into interaction. People need places to gather, discuss, think, create and align. They also need places that protect concentration without isolating them.

Design is more than the aesthetic expression of an office. It is the architecture of behavior. It tells people what the space is for, how it should be used and why being together matters. When the design is right, individuals don’t need to be told to come in—they come because the environment supports their goals better than the alternative.

A well-designed workplace doesn’t convince people. It attracts them.

The turning point for leaders

The organizations that finally crack the attendance challenge are the ones that stop asking, “How do we enforce the policy?” and start asking, “How do we create a workplace people choose?”

A mandate makes people show up. A magnet makes people participate.

The difference is everything.

CRUX Workplace

Modern Office Balance: Achieving Harmony in Hybrid Workspaces

If you strip away all the noise around mandates, flexibility debates, real estate costs, and post-pandemic sentiment, you end up with a simple truth: the modern workplace is a balancing act. It must reconcile the very real need for flexibility with the equally real need for connection, culture and performance. And that tension is not going away. It is now the operating condition of every organization.

In a world where employees can work almost anywhere, the office must give them something meaningful—something they can’t get alone, at home, or on a video call.

The modern office doesn’t replace flexibility. It completes it.

Why this balance matters more than ever

In the early years of hybrid working, many organizations swung too far in one direction. Some tried to recreate the traditional office rhythm and expected people back simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” Others tried to replicate remote work patterns indefinitely and discovered that culture, mentoring and connection began to erode in ways that weren’t immediately visible but proved deeply damaging over time.

What hybrid showed us is that both extremes fail. An office-first world ignores personal well-being and autonomy. A remote-first world neglects connection, learning, belonging and shared identity. People need both, which means organizations need a workplace and operating model that balances both.

This balance is not a “middle ground.” It’s a deliberate system where autonomy and structure support each other rather than compete.

What balance actually looks like inside organizations

It’s tempting to define balance purely as “two days in, three days out,” but balance isn’t a number—it’s a feeling. It is the sense employees have when the workplace supports their work instead of disrupting it, when expectations are clear instead of ambiguous, and when in-person days have purpose rather than being filled with the same tasks they could do more efficiently at home.

A balanced workplace is one where employees know why they’re commuting. They know what the day will give them—collaboration, access to colleagues, clarity, momentum, social connection, exposure, mentoring, problem-solving—things that simply aren’t replicated online. And they know the office is designed to support those moments rather than hinder them.

In practice, balance looks like intentional in-person rhythms rather than forced attendance. It looks like leaders who use the office with purpose, not symbolism. It looks like teams gathering for activities that actually benefit from being together. And it looks like a workplace where employees don’t spend their in-office days hunting for quiet corners or sitting through endless hybrid meetings in rooms that were never designed for them.

Balance, in other words, is when the experience of being in the office aligns with the reason for being there.

The role of workplace design in creating balance

A balanced hybrid model cannot exist in a poorly designed space. If the workplace isn’t built to support collaboration, focus, connection and hybrid meetings, it won’t matter how well-crafted the policy is—people will avoid it.

This is why designing offices around activities, rather than headcount, has become the new standard. Traditional layouts were built for individual focus work, which hybrid has largely relocated to home environments. The modern workplace must provide the things home cannot: places to collaborate deeply, think together, ideate, plan, align and learn from each other. It must also provide genuinely quiet places for individual work—not the illusion of quiet, but real, shielded environments that protect focus without isolating people.

And crucially, the modern workplace must create a feeling of energy. One of the biggest drivers of attendance is the expectation of connection—the sense that something is happening in the office, that other people will be there, that the environment feels alive and worth showing up for. People don’t choose empty offices; they choose energized ones.

Design either amplifies that energy or suffocates it.

The behavioral side of balance

Even the most beautifully designed workplace cannot create balance if behaviors don’t support it. This is where organizations often underestimate the power of clarity. Hybrid work introduced a level of unpredictability that leaders and teams were not prepared for. People no longer automatically knew when colleagues would be in, how hybrid meetings should be run, or what constituted a “good” workday.

Without structure, hybrid becomes chaotic. With too much structure, it becomes rigid.

The middle ground comes from Team Agreements—clear, co-created behavioral norms that help teams understand when to meet in person, how they communicate, how they run meetings, and how they protect focus time. These agreements take the ambiguity out of hybrid work and turn individual choices into shared rhythms. And when teams work with shared rhythms, the workplace feels more consistent, more supportive and more predictable.

Predictability is one of the most underrated drivers of workplace satisfaction. Balance isn’t only about flexibility; it’s about knowing what to expect.

Culture doesn’t survive on autopilot

One of the uncomfortable lessons of the past few years is that culture cannot be left to chance. It used to be shaped by proximity—shared spaces, informal conversations, hallway collisions, side-by-side problem-solving. Hybrid disrupted that foundation. Culture now needs to be maintained intentionally, through clear rituals, shared experiences and purposeful gathering.

The modern office is part of that ritual. It’s the anchor for the story an organization tells itself. But the office alone cannot carry the weight. Culture comes from interactions, not locations. And those interactions must be nurtured through leadership behaviors, team agreements, mentoring systems and environments that make connection the path of least resistance.

Organizations that embrace this are rebuilding culture with strength. Those that don’t are watching culture erode quietly from underneath.

The new reality: balance is not optional

The organizations that will succeed over the next decade are the ones that master balance—not as a slogan, but as a lived experience. They will create workplaces where flexibility and connection reinforce each other, not compete. They will build hybrid models that feel coherent rather than confusing. And they will design environments where people can do their best work, not because they’re told to be there, but because the workplace brings out the best in them.

CRUX Workplace

Planning for the Unplannable: A Culture Built on Energy

In the "Anti-Plans Social Butterfly" series, we'll explore how workplace strategy can support the spontaneity and momentum, that drives human connection and innovation.

Operationalizing Momentum for Connection and Collaboration

When momentum is embedded in team culture, employees are more likely to recognize and act on those real-time opportunities that spark meaningful connection and productive collaboration. While spontaneity can’t be forced, it can be encouraged and inspired through planning and design. In the previous two articles, we explored the social dynamics and spatial design that support momentum. In this final installment, we focus on how to integrate in-the-moment connection and collaboration into company culture.

Many organizations assume that simply returning to the office will reignite innovation and cohesion. However, without intentional practices to rebuild workplace culture, that return can fall flat for both employees and leaders. Momentum for collaboration and connection grows when supported by a balance of structure and flexibility, creating the conditions for natural engagement that also drives business outcomes. For Anti-Plans Social Butterflies, it’s the perfect environment for connection to feel real and work to feel alive.

What does that look like?

• Budgeting for momentum | Coffee runs, shared lunches, and hallway catchups deserve time and space in the workday. These are signs of a healthy, connected workplace, not distractions. When organizations acknowledge the value of these moments and provide light guidance on how much time to allot weekly, employees gain the psychological safety to participate without second-guessing whether it’s acceptable.

• Team agreements | These simple frameworks help teams define best practices for connection and collaboration, allowing momentum-led engagement to flow naturally within agreed-upon boundaries. In support of momentum, agreements can include statements like, “We support 15-minute impromptu brainstorms when someone has a fresh idea.” This gives room for creative, informal engagement while setting expectations that align with work flow.

• Etiquette and usage guidance | Clear social and spatial norms help employees make the most of the office. This includes guidance on where to go to follow the energy of a conversation or activity, and how to use on-demand work settings, 1:1 pods, and team zones in ways that support spontaneous interaction without disrupting others. It also ensures the tools and spaces provided are used effectively and as intended.

• Team rituals | Recurring, low-pressure gatherings, like midweek lunches or end-of-day happy hours, can help establish a rhythm of informal connection. These are most effective when held during work hours, aligned with team culture, and timed with existing meetings or in-office days.

• Ease into scheduled events | Formally scheduled events can feel overwhelming, especially for Anti-Plans Social Butterflies. Consider ways to build pre-event momentum with low-barrier activities like a shared lunch, group coffee run, or casual team hang out before heading to a meeting or company gathering. These warm-ups create interpersonal energy, helping people show up to the main event with more comfort, authenticity, and presence.

  
  

Reminding People What They Can Do in the Office

Many employees are out of practice or inexperienced when it comes to participating in a thriving and connected office culture. Some are new to the workforce and have never experienced office life before the pandemic. Others have simply slipped into habits of overworking and minimizing social interaction. Reintroducing people to the full potential of the office, showing them what it can offer socially, professionally, and experientially, can help restore a sense of purpose and possibility in their time on-site.

The perception that coming to the office means eating lunch alone at their desks, sitting through back-to-back meetings, or spending the day on virtual calls with no breaks, the space becomes synonymous with restriction, not support. By re-onboarding employees into a workday and culture that encourages conversation, connection, and authentic energy, organizations can shift how the office is viewed. Rather than feeling restrictive, it becomes a place that strengthens relationships, supports performance, and brings energy to the day.

When organizations model and support a culture of momentum-led connection, the workplace transforms from something to power through into a space that brings out people’s best ideas.

The Anti-Plans Social Butterfly Series Conclusion

In Part 1, we introduced the Anti-Plans Social Butterfly, someone who thrives in authentic, spontaneous connection but resists scheduled socializing. Part 2 shifted the focus to space, showing how proximity, visibility, and design can enable momentum, unlocking better ideas and more effective collaboration.

This final article offers a way to act on both. Supporting momentum-led collaboration and connection means aligning culture, environment, and team rhythms to give people the freedom to follow energy instead of obligation. The most powerful moments at work are often impromptu, emerging from the spark of shared momentum.

Thank you for joining me on this series!

CRUX Workplace