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For three years, the business world has been locked in a territorial conflict. The Return to Office (RTO) wars have been defined by geography: home versus headquarters. But as 2025 progressed, the front line shifted. According to commercial real estate giant JLL’s Labor Preferences Barometer 2025the most critical conflict between employers and employees is no longer a question of place but a question of time.
As structured hybrid policies have become the norm, with 66% of office workers globally indicating clear expectations for the days ahead, a new disconnect has emerged. Employees have largely accepted the “where,” but are aggressively demanding autonomy over the “when.”
The report highlights a fundamental shift in employee priorities. Work-life balance has overtaken salary as the top priority for office workers globally, cited by 65% of respondents, up from 59% in 2022. This statistic highlights a profound shift in needs: employees are seeking “on-site time management.”
Even though high salaries remain the main reason why people to change jobs, the ability to control one’s schedule is the main reason they stay. The report notes that employees are seeking “some freedom of action in when and how they work,” and this desire for temporal autonomy is reshaping the talent market.
Even if JLL has not looked into the phenomenon of “coffee badge“, its findings align with the practice of hybrid workers pushing the boundaries of office presence. The phrase – meaning when a worker swipes their badge just long enough to grab the proverbial cup of coffee before heading elsewhere to continue working remotely – starkly illustrates how goals have shifted from where to when. Gartner reported 60% of employers followed their employees in 2022, twice as many as before the pandemic.
The “flexibility gap”
JLL data reveals a significant “flexibility gap”: 57% of employees believe flexible working hours would improve their quality of life, but only 49% currently have access to this benefit.
This gap is particularly dangerous for employers, JLL said, believing that the “psychological contract” between workers and employers is at risk. While pay and flexibility remain fundamental to retention, JLL said its survey of 8,700 workers in 31 countries reveals a deeper psychological contract: “Today’s workers want to be visible, valued and prepared for the future. About one in three say they might leave for better career development or reskilling opportunities, while the same proportion are reevaluating the role of work in their lives.” JLL argued that “recognition…emotional well-being and a clear sense of purpose” are now crucial for long-term retention.
The report warns that when this contract is broken, employees stop engaging and start seeking compensation in the form of “higher travel allowances and flexible hours.” The urgency for time flexibility is motivated by a crisis of exhaustion. Nearly 40% of office workers worldwide report feeling overwhelmed and burnout has become a “serious threat to employers’ businesses.”
The link between rigid schedules and retirements is clear: among employees considering resigning in the next 12 months, 57% report suffering from professional burnout. For caregivers and the “pressured middle” of the workforce, standard hybrid policies are insufficient; 42% of caregivers need short-term paid leave to manage their lives, but they often feel their constraints are “misunderstood and poorly addressed at work.”
To survive this new battle, the report suggests, businesses must abandon “one-size-fits-all” approaches. Successful organizations are moving toward “tailored flexibility,” which emphasizes autonomy over work schedules rather than simply counting days spent in the office. This change even impacts the physical office building. To support a workforce that works asynchronous schedules, offices must adapt with “extended access hours,” smart lighting, and space reservation systems that support flexible work schedules rather than a rigid 9-5 routine.
Management Guru Suzy Welchwarns, however, that employers may struggle to find a cure for burnout. The New York University professor, who spent seven years as a management consultant at Bain & Co. before joining Harvard Business Review in 2001, later becoming editor-in-chief, told the Ladder Masters podcast in September burnout is existential and generational. Welch, 66, argued Burnout is linked to hope, and current generations have reason to lack it.
“We thought if you worked hard, you got rewarded. And that’s where the disconnect lies,” she said.
Expanding on the theme, she added: “Gen Z thinks, ‘Yeah, I watched what happened to my parents’ careers and I watched what happened to my older sister’s career and they worked really hard and they still got laid off.’
