The back-and-forth on returning to the office is still dominating headlines, but the conversation is missing the point. The real question isn’t where people work, but how they work—and how they’re treated while doing it. 

The equation is simple when comparing RTO to hybrid, and all the stats back it up: 

Good mental health = happy staff = better outputs = happy clients = revenue growth. 

• Mental Health – 62% of hybrid workers reported better mental health (i), 31% less likely to experience anxiety or depression (ii). 

• Happy Staff – 24% lower attrition rates (iii) and job posts mentioning “flexibility” received 42% more applications (iv). 

• Better Outputs – 67% of media and advertising CEOs believe that hybrid models enhance innovation (v)  and 81% of marketers stated that hybrid models attract diverse talent (vi).

• Happy Clients – 20% increase in client satisfaction (vii)

• Revenue Growth – companies offering flexibility grew revenue 2.3x faster than their peers (viii) and workers in knowledge-based industries, including marketing, had 5-8% higher productivity (ix). 

Even the age-old Service-Profit Chain is based on the fact that treating employees well drives results. In his recent Media Leader opinion piece, James Townsend, Stagwell EMEA CEO, shared that the group are thriving with a high in-office attendance — roughly four-fifths of employees are in the office four days a week, despite the lack of a mandate. 

That’s because if you create a great culture within a company, with opportunities to learn and be flexible to support their work-life balance, you’ll encourage loyal, engaged, empowered teams that want to be in the office with their peers as much as possible. 

Translate this care in to pitches 

The biggest test of your culture will inevitably be during the pressure-cooker environment of a big pitch. A poorly run process that disregards culture leads to: 

• Stress-filled, late nights scrambling to pull things together. 
• A leader stepping in last minute to rip up work. 
• Slide changes happening in the back of a cab. 

Burnout, last-minute chaos, and rigid mandates ultimately break the business.  

The agencies that consistently win pitches are those with a culture of growth embedded throughout the entire agency. This means they train for pitches instead of just surviving them. They create environments where teams can plan, think, and execute with clarity. As well as running a seamless, structured pitch process that considers the well-being of their team. 

The Bottom Line 

In summary, this should not be a conversation about RTO. This should be a holistic look at how and where your teams best perform and how that translates across every area of your business. 

Talent policies should be guided by evidence and take into account your individual agency culture. If you listen to your people, they will reward you with their commitment.  Agency leaders should also consider how the smart use of outside resources such as consultants, and technology. including AI, can help to lighten workloads and prevent workplace burnout, especially within the high-pressure arena of a pitch. 

At 300, we are experts in embedding growth processes into agencies that merge talent and technology to create seamless pitch experiences, this allows your teams to do the best work while keeping your current clients happy. Drop us a line to find out more.  

i -2022 study by Owl Labs 

ii- Mind Share Partners’ 2023 Report 

iii – 2023 Gallup study 

iv- LinkedIn (2023) 

v – PwC’s 2023 CEO Survey  

vi – survey by Campaign Magazine (2023)  

vii- Cited by a mid-sized ad agency in New York

viii- McKinsey (2022) 

iv – Stanford University (2023)