The reasons that managers/execs push for RTO are complex, and sometimes disingenuous and nefarious.

As someone who’s worked remote (and async) and also in big offices, sometimes I see individual workers celebrating RTO for misguided reasons:

1. They use work as a social space

2. They enjoy the break of getting out of their house/from family/partner

3. The ritual of going to and from work as a separate space is helpful

All of these are solvable without mandating RTO, so it is frustrating when workers align themselves with RTO mandates when they could just solve the above.

1. Sometimes people don’t pursue friendships outside their work or family. You should! It is healthy!

2. I sometimes see people not set boundaries during work days, and have their own partners not respect their boundaries (“please don’t come in my office when I’m on a call”). Here, they’re leaning on RTO to set a boundary on their behalf.

3. During WFH in 2020-2021, I set a ritual where I’d go for a walk around the block with a coffee before returning to my small Manhattan apartment. I used Phillips Hues to change the lighting to colder when in work mode.

Offices are a bonus when you live near to them, but mandating their usage is crazy. If workers don’t feel happier and more productive when going into an office, and recognize it as an advantage for them doing work, then execs should recognize that the office is lacking somehow.