This week, the national average for a gallon of gas was $4.16—75 cents a gallon higher than just a month ago, owing to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In California, prices are nearing $6 a gallon.

The skyrocketing costs likely have many employees concerned about their wallets, exacerbating an already precarious financial wellness crisis. Rising prices are also igniting debate about the employer’s role in easing financial strain, including the impacts of recently introduced return-to-office mandates.

Is it ethical for companies to demand return to office if the commute becomes unsustainable? one LinkedIn user question. Another put it bluntly: Gas prices should cancel return-to-office mandates.

Building employee pushback over gas prices?

AAA reported the unwelcome news late last month that prices had surged beyond $4 a gallon for the first time in four years. This week’s average compares to about $3.26 one year ago, and $3.41 just a month ago.

This growing pressure comes as around 70% of U.S. companies now have an in-person reporting requirement, with most mandating three days in the office, and ongoing drops in the number of organizations allowing fully flexible arrangements.

Increasingly, some big-name organizations aren’t just calling workers back to the office, but doing so with little room for flexibility. For instance, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told employees who pushed back against the company’s full-time RTO mandate to quit.

Will gas prices cause a sea change in the RTO hardliner trend? That remains to be seen, says a new Korn Ferry report, but it’s increasingly likely that employees are going to get more vocal about their pain at the pump.

After a “long battle to restore” the in-office norm, most companies are “hesitant to give up an inch of ground,” Korn Ferry researchers write. “But employees with lower salaries may well push back on commutes that dig into their paychecks, especially while consumer prices remain high.”

The surge in gas prices comes after a prolonged period of high inflation, rising consumer costs and skyrocketing healthcare prices that have thrown employee financial wellness—or lack thereof—into stark contrast. New research from industry analyst firm Valoir finds that nearly 80% of employees report being stressed about their financial wellbeing. And it’s also having an organizational impact: The report estimates that U.S. businesses lose about $1.1 trillion every year in productivity dips stemming from financial stress.

The cost of inflexibility

Korn Ferry researchers advise HR to help leadership consider the financial impacts of the ongoing oil crisis from the lens of what’s best for both employees and employers. After all, they note, the cost to heat and cool buildings amid is also surging alongside gas prices.

And there’s also the talent cost: Recent research by MyPerfectResume found that U.S. workers spend nearly 225 hours a year commuting to work, which translates to about six unpaid 40-hour workweeks, worth about $8,158 per employee each year.

“That is a significant amount of time and money that employees do not see in their paycheck,” says Jasmine Escalera, career expert at MyPerfectResume, “and over time, it can make them feel undervalued.”

Leaning into flexibility, particularly in the short-term—and especially at companies that already offer hybrid approaches—can be an effective way to reduce financial and talent costs all around.

For instance, Korn Ferry researchers write employers should consider reserving in-office reporting  for “critical” in-person reasons, like meeting days and client lunches.

Organizations that are considering easing RTO restrictions temporarily should also emphasize that previous expectations will be reinstated once the Middle East conflict eases, says Dennis Deans, global human resources business partner at Korn Ferry.

“This is a matter of being really practical in today’s environment,” he says, “but setting long-term expectations.”

A broader conversation on flexibility

Kelly Jones, chief people officer of Cisco, says that regardless of commuting costs, HR should be approaching in-office moments strategically.

“We’re being very intentional about how and when we bring people together in a way that’s worth the commute—‘WTC,’ I hear that a lot,” Jones says.

That work involves a real cultural transformation—one that has a deep sense of belonging as the end goal.

“We have to stop mandating presence for presence’s sake and start designing for the moments where human connection is actually, genuinely irreplaceable,” she says.

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