Why Leaders Are Still Clinging to Office Mandates

Despite mounting evidence that rigid RTO policies are failing, many executives continue to enforce them. This resistance isn’t just about productivity—it’s about financial, cultural, and reputational concerns that make reversing course feel impossible.
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• Real Estate & Investor Pressure: Many companies made massive investments in office space before the pandemic. Abandoning these assets would mean admitting they miscalculated future workplace needs and potentially taking financial losses. Shareholders and investors see empty office buildings as inefficiencies, pushing executives to enforce in-office policies to justify these expenses.
  
• Leadership Mindset & Control: Some leaders built their careers in an era where physical presence equaled productivity and struggle to adopt a new performance framework. There is a fear that losing direct oversight means losing control over team performance, even though data proves otherwise.
  
• Cultural & Reputation Concerns: Some executives worry that embracing hybrid or remote work will make their company seem less structured or serious compared to competitors. Leaders who publicly championed RTO policies don’t want to admit they were wrong, fearing a loss of credibility with employees, investors, and board members.