For the final three years, the company world has been locked in a territorial dispute. The “Return to Office” (RTO) wars have been outlined by geography: the house versus the headquarters. However as 2025 unfolded, the frontline shifted. In accordance with industrial real-estate big JLL’s Workforce Desire Barometer 2025, essentially the most important battle between employers and workers is not about location—it’s about time.
Whereas structured hybrid insurance policies have turn into the norm, with 66% of world workplace employees reporting clear expectations on which days to attend, a brand new disconnect has emerged. Staff have largely accepted the “where,” however they’re aggressively demanding autonomy over the “when.”
The report highlights a basic change in worker priorities. Work–life stability has overtaken wage because the main precedence for workplace employees globally, cited by 65% of respondents—up from 59% in 2022. This statistic underscores a profound shift in wants: Staff are on the lookout for “management of time over place.”
Whereas excessive salaries stay the highest motive folks swap jobs, the power to regulate one’s schedule is the first motive they keep. The report notes workers are searching for “agency over when and how they work,” and this want for temporal autonomy is reshaping the expertise market.
Though JLL didn’t dive into the phenomenon of “coffee badging,” its findings align with the observe of hybrid employees stretching the boundaries of workplace attendance. The phrase—which means when a employee badges in simply lengthy sufficient to have the proverbial cup of espresso earlier than commuting some place else to maintain working remotely—vividly illustrates how the goalposts have shifted from the place to when. Gartner reported 60% of employers have been monitoring workers as of 2022, twice as many as earlier than the pandemic.
The ‘flexibility gap’
JLL’s knowledge reveals a big “flexibility gap”: 57% of workers imagine versatile working hours would enhance their high quality of life, but solely 49% presently have entry to this profit.
The hole is especially harmful for employers, JLL stated, arguing it believes the “psychological contract” between employees and employers is in danger. Whereas wage and adaptability stay basic to retention, JLL stated its survey of 8,700 employees throughout 31 international locations reveals a deeper psychological contract: “Workers today want to be visible, valued and prepared for the future. Around one in three say they could leave for better career development or reskilling opportunities, while the same proportion is reevaluating the role of work in their lives.” JLL argued “recognition … emotional wellbeing and a clear sense of purpose” at the moment are essential for long-term retention.
The report warns that the place this contract is damaged, workers cease participating and begin searching for compensation by way of “increased commuting stipend and flexible hours.” The urgency for time flexibility is being pushed by a disaster of exhaustion. Almost 40% of world workplace employees report feeling overwhelmed, and burnout has turn into a “serious threat to employers’ operations.”
The hyperlink between inflexible schedules and attrition is obvious: Amongst workers contemplating quitting within the subsequent 12 months, 57% report affected by burnout. For caregivers and the “squeezed middle” of the workforce, customary hybrid insurance policies are inadequate; 42% of caregivers require short-notice paid go away to handle their lives, but they usually really feel their constraints are “poorly understood and supported at work.”
To outlive this new battle, the report suggests firms should abandon “one-size-fits-all” approaches. Profitable organizations are shifting towards “tailored flexibility,” which emphasizes autonomy over working hours fairly than simply counting days at a desk. This shift even impacts the bodily workplace constructing. To help a workforce that operates on asynchronous schedules, places of work should adapt with “extended access hours,” good lighting, and space-booking programs that help versatile work patterns fairly than a inflexible 9-to-5 routine.
Administration guru Suzy Welch, nevertheless, warns it could be an uphill battle for employers to discover a burnout treatment. The New York College professor, who spent seven years as a administration marketing consultant at Bain & Co. earlier than becoming a member of Harvard Enterprise Overview in 2001, later serving as editor-in-chief, instructed the Masters of Scale podcast in September burnout is existential and generational. The 66-year-old Welch argued burnout is linked to hope, and present generations have motive to lack this.
“We believed that if if you worked hard you were rewarded for it. And so this is the disconnect,” she stated.
Increasing on the theme, she added: “Gen Z thinks, ‘Yeah, I watched what happened to my parents’ career and I watched what happened to my older sister’s career and they worked very hard and they still got laid off.’” JLL’s worldwide survey suggests this message has resonated for employees globally: They shouldn’t surrender an excessive amount of of their time, as a result of it simply is probably not rewarded.
