The 'Return to Office' Mandates Are Failing Spectacularly

Corporate "Return to Office" (RTO) mandates are failing. They add commutes without delivering the promised collaboration, drive away the most capable employees, and bring back the distractions that hurt focused work.

What are RTO mandates asking for?

For the past year, CEOs have been sending out passive-aggressive emails demanding everyone come back to their cubicles 3 to 5 days a week for "collaboration." Spoiler alert: it's failing completely, and the data proves it.

Why is return to office backfiring?

• Zero Collaboration: Employees can end up commuting just to sit at a desk and get on Zoom calls with people in other states anyway.
• Top Talent is Leaving: The most competent people—the ones who know they can get a job anywhere—are simply quitting and going to companies that respect their time. The companies enforcing RTO are experiencing massive brain drain.
• Productivity is Tanking: Office distractions are back. The open-floor plan is a nightmare for actual focused work.

What is really behind RTO mandates?

The real reason behind these mandates rarely has anything to do with productivity. A lot of it is driven by middle managers trying to justify their jobs and companies panicking because they signed a 10-year lease on a massively expensive, empty glass building.

Can companies win the fight against remote work?

No. The genie is out of the bottle. Remote work proved that we can be highly productive without wasting 10 hours a week sitting in traffic. Companies that fight this reality are going to lose the talent war, simple as that.