If you grumbled about your company’s return-to-office (RTO) mandate, you might have jinxed them into the mess they’re in now. Revelio Labs found that firms enforcing office returns are growing more slowly than their flexible counterparts. Since mid-2022, hybrid-work companies have expanded their workforce by 1.6%, while those requiring in-office attendance have grown by just 1%.

• RTO mandates are linked to higher turnover and hiring struggles, with women, senior staff, and skilled workers leaving at higher rates, according to University of Pittsburgh research.
• Despite this, AT&TT
  and SweetgreenSG
  are joining the RTO trend, expanding office mandates in Jan. 2025, following Amazon’sAMZN
  influential five-day mandate.

The writing on the wall: As workplaces evolve, RTO policies are becoming a quiet downsizing tool. AT&T’s consolidation saw 42K managers leave instead of relocating, while Amazon’s AWS delayed its mandate by four months due to space issues in seven cities. But the biggest cost is brain drain — losing top talent can incapacitate companies. With challenges mounting, it’s time for businesses to rethink their approach before more talent walks out.