Return-to-office mandates are about to backfire

In 2025, Amazon, Dell, Apple, Google, IBM, Meta, Salesforce, and dozens more have doubled down on demands for employees to return to the office (RTO) at least three days a week, if not all five. And they’re getting exactly what they want.

Now, when I say “exactly what they want,” you might be expecting me to paint a picture of workers happily returning to their daily commutes, overcrowded highways, cavernous or claustrophobic offices, constant interruptions, and extra expenses, and all of it resulting in massive productivity gains.

That’s not happening, the productivity-gains part. And the longer we play this out, the sillier the performances of “productivity theater” have become. The truth is, the science on productivity is still out.

So you have to go with your gut. Or your experience