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A US-based company has announced that it will offer its Chicago-area employees a $10,000 raise to return to the office – sacrificing their flexible working arrangements.
Dominating workplace discourse in 2025 has been the ongoing increase of return-to-office (RTO) implementations. Whether full RTO mandates or hybrid working arrangements, large organisations continue to jump on the bandwagon.
Just last week, Woolworths announced that by 6 October 2025, all team members will be spending at least three working days in the office.
“A key priority for us in 2025 is to create more opportunities for in-person connection to increase our responsiveness and better serve our customers. To support this, we are evolving our hybrid ways of working to ensure we better balance the needs of our customers and business, with the needs of our team,” said Woolworths Group chief executive Amanda Bardwell.
“This means we will be introducing clearer guidelines to optimise our hybrid ways of working, with an expectation that our support office team members connect with their team in the office a minimum of three days per week, with the flexibility to work remotely for the remaining two days.”
On a more global scale, Amazon recently implemented a full return-to-office mandate, as Andy Jassy, current chief executive at Amazon, announced that the move is to foster greater workplace culture.
“When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant,” Jassy said.
“We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and teams tend to be better connected to one another.”
Although organisational leaders share great enthusiasm for the potential benefits that a full office can bring, a majority of employees are struggling to feel the same way. According to IWG, research has already indicated that 73 per cent of employees at large companies have considered resigning due to mandated RTO.
Seeing this turmoil and tension that surrounds the subject of an RTO mandate, celebrity video messaging website Cameo decided to incentivise its workers to come back into the office – offering its current Chicago-based staff a $10,000 pay rise if they return to the workplace.
Steven Galanis, chief executive and co-founder of Cameo, said in a LinkedIn post: “To fuel innovation and strengthen our in-person connections, we’re asking our Chicago-area employees to return to our vibrant Fulton Market HQ Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.”
“To show our appreciation for their commitment, we’re proud to offer every Chicagoland employee a $10,000 raise, along with incredible perks like daily catered lunches, gym memberships, and free parking.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, Galanis claimed that no one has “balked” yet at the incentive for the return-to-office mandate.
“At Cameo, we have always believed that being together in person sparks creativity, accelerates growth, and drives the kind of magic that powers our mission to create meaningful connections. This is more than a policy – it’s an investment in our people and our future,” said Galanis.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
