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First, it was working from home whenever you’d like. Then the head honchos required you to come in at least one or two days a week, at your choosing, to help maintain company culture or whatever. Then, bosses mandated three days and that became the norm for hybrid working with attendance monitored and tracked.
Welcome to hybrid creep.
This latest work trend buzzword describes the slow shift away from working from home and towards more in-office days, while still technically maintaining a “hybrid” workforce. All and without the drama of a full “return to office” (RTO) mandate.
This term didn’t originate from TikTok, but arrived via a “state of hybrid work” report published by Owl Labs last year.
That report found that in-office days are slowly increasing for hybrid workers, with 34% heading into the office in 2025, a slight climb from 32% in 2024 and up from 23% in 2023.
That could be a rounding error, but the company said in a blog post that: “This suggests that even without a sweeping mandate, many employees are experiencing a slow-motion return to office.”
We’ll have to wait for this year’s report to see if that trend continues, but data from Indeed suggests that once-weekly office requirements have fallen from 35% in 2022 to 15% in 2025, with hybrid working arrangements of two or three days in the office now the “norm”.
Even though many return-to-office (RTO) mandates that make the headlines are merely formalising hybrid working with a set number of days in the office, such heavy-handed behaviour from management risks demoralising staff.
Instead, hybrid creep sees in-office days encouraged through more subtle measures. That might be increasing the frequency of meetings that require in-person attendance, or perhaps team leaders setting expectations by spending more time at the office.
Other signs of hybrid creep? How about the return of perks like free lunch, membership of a gym near the office, or training/professional benefits that are missed by at-home workers.
Instead of demanding in-office days, this behaviour merely encourages it – leaving employees wondering if they’re coming in enough.
Managers shouldn’t try to trick staff back into the office, but be honest about what’s required in a role – to employees, but also to themselves.
Why do staff need to be in three days rather than two? Valid reasons could include more time to book meetings with clients, improving training of new hires or protecting work-life balance.
Not very good reasons include vague beliefs that it will improve “collaboration” or “company culture”. Then there’s urge of some bosses to micromanage or otherwise maintain control. Perhaps they themselves want to have a break from their own families – yes, that’s a genuine reason, and one given by a quarter of respondents in one study.
Good managers should avoid hybrid creep, as it risks punishing those with real reasons to work from home where possible, be it caring responsibilities, disabilities, or other challenges. Flexible working is a boon to such people, and hybrid creep can be just as detrimental to their careers as a strict RTO mandate.
So don’t be a vague creep, be truly hybrid. And if you can’t, just… say so when hiring staff. Otherwise don’t be surprised when your quiet “hybrid creep” turns into a lot of “quiet quitting.”
