As enterprises double down on return-to-office accommodation policies, manage the structural rise in workplace mental health management demands, and grapple with the early disruption of AI workforce planning, one thing is becoming clear. The legal, operational, and strategic risks building inside today’s organizations are no longer isolated. They are converging.
For enterprise leaders, these three forces are arriving simultaneously. Organizations without the data infrastructure to respond consistently are the most exposed.
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The recent findings come from Littler’s 2026 Annual Employer Survey, completed by over 300 U.S.-based professionals across industries and company sizes. Respondents included C-suite executives, in-house lawyers, and HR leaders.
Notably, 41% of respondents came from organizations with more than 10,000 employees, giving the data particular weight for enterprise readers. Littler is regarded as a global leader in employment and labor law.
The Return-to-Office Push Has a Hidden Legal Cost
Return-to-office accommodation litigation is rising quickly.
In 2025, 50% of employers reported concern about accommodation-related legal claims. In 2026, that figure jumped to 67%. Among large enterprises, 77% now share that concern.
As pandemic-era expectations around remote work collide with RTO ambitions, employees are increasingly submitting formal accommodation requests. But the situation gets more complex.
Alexis C. Knapp, co-chair of Littler's Leave and Accommodation Practice Group, explains:
“In managing remote work requests, many employers are finding that the challenge is not just the volume of requests, but how those requests are handled at the frontline manager level"
Knapp highlights that "it is increasingly important" for businesses to have a consistent process in place for evaluating these requests. This process should be "truly individualized" and done on a case-by-base basis that is available to managers.
Return-to-office accommodation decisions cannot be handled informally. Inconsistent responses across managers, teams, or locations create disparities that are difficult to defend.
Organizations with clear data - who requested what, how it was evaluated, and what the outcome was - are better positioned to defend their decisions.
When Mental Health Meets Workforce Operations
The accommodation challenge does not sit in isolation. It connects directly to a growing pressure on workplace mental health management.
For the third consecutive year, employers are reporting significant rises in mental health-related leave and accommodation requests. In 2026, 67% of employers saw an increase - consistent with 70% in 2025 and 74% in 2024. This is no longer a temporary spike.
Littler’s data shows 75% of employers say managing extended or open-ended absences is their top administrative challenge, while 70% struggle to ensure managers are equipped to handle requests appropriately.
Effective workplace mental health management requires more than policy tweaks. It requires changes to workforce management strategy.
For example, Littler's Jeff Nowak highlights one course of action that forward-thinking enterprises are considering. He said:
"It’s encouraging that most employers are focusing on manager training as a critical step in effectively managing requests and minimizing litigation risk."
Beyond training, there is a tech angle to this as well.
When a meaningful share of the workforce is on extended or intermittent leave, it affects space utilization, team coverage, and peak-day performance. Without systems to model and absorb these patterns, organizations will find long-term planning & office analytics a more challenging task.
