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    A return to office policy can be an efficient way for companies to reduce their office-space costs, depending on how they view these expenses. While long-term telecommuting may allow some companies to shrink their real estate footprint, many that are returning employees to the office can decrease per-person costs through higher space utilization.

    According to a report from Density, citing CoStar data, U.S. sub-markets saw an average per-employee rent cost of $10,600 for companies with RTO policies in March 2025, down from $13,500 before implementation. However, this figure doesn't account for potential increases in costs for food and other office perks.

    Density's own study, based on data from 21 office buildings across major organizations that implemented an RTO policy within the past year, shows mostly positive results with some hiccups. Workplace occupancy spikes during the first three weeks of RTO, often reaching pre-pandemic levels, but then drops significantly over the following eight weeks.

    However, if increased collaboration is a goal for companies implementing RTO, the policy tends to support it. In fact, in the first week back in the office, collaboration time increases by 40%, with occupancy shooting up by 40%. Teams settle into a new norm featuring more collaboration after about six weeks.

    The report also notes that concerns over desk supply have been unfounded, as offices see only an 8% decline in "wasted" desks. Different RTO policies can yield varying results, such as a company shifting from fully remote to three days in-office, where occupancy spikes Tuesday through Thursday but declines on Mondays and Fridays below pre-RTO levels.