The Return to Office Reality Gap
Plus, why most managers aren't ready for distributed teams
👋 Happy Tuesday! On LinkedIn, we asked our followers if they thought the percentage of companies requiring full-time in-office work was higher, lower, or about the same as last year. Despite nearly 50% saying they thought it was higher, the reality is that only 33% of US firms actually require this—virtually unchanged from Q2 2024. A good reminder not to always believe the flashy RTO headlines.
In this week’s edition:
🕳️ The RTO Reality Gap
🎥 State of Flex Webinar Tomorrow
💰 Fortune 500 Shift towards Office
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THIS WEEK’S FLEX FOCUS 🔍
The Return to Office Reality Gap
Fortune 500 companies are getting tougher on office mandates—but their employees aren't getting the memo. New data reveals a striking disconnect: while corporate policies demanding in-person work have nearly doubled since late 2024, actual office attendance has barely budged.
This isn't just statistical noise. It's a quiet rebellion playing out in conference rooms and cubicles across America, where high-performing employees are essentially calling their bosses' bluff. Even companies threatening termination for non-compliance aren't seeing the dramatic attendance shifts they expected.
What emerges from the latest research is a workplace in transition, where the old rules of presence-equals-productivity are colliding with new realities about talent retention, performance management, and what actually drives results. The question isn't whether this gap will close, but which side will blink first.
UPCOMING FLEX EVENTS 🎥
Q2 State of Flex Webinar Tomorrow!
Ready for fresh insights on the future of work? Our quarterly webinar is back with game-changing data you won't want to miss.
What's to expect:
Our brand new Flex Report findings (including that eye-opening Fortune 500 deep-dive) with Work Forward’s Brian Elliott
Latest research from Stanford's Nick Bloom and BCG's Debbie Lovich
The past, present & future of the Flex Index with co-founder Rob Sadow
The best part? Our live Q&A, where we’ll tackle your toughest questions about workplace flexibility.
FLEX WORK QUICK HITS 💥
Stay ahead of the curve with our curated roundup of the trending flexible work stories making waves right now. Here's what you need to know 👇
KRON4: Full-time WFH plummeted in the Bay Area from 32% to 11% since 2021, while hybrid schedules surged to 63%, with average home days dropping from 3 to 2 per week.
HR Dive: More than half of companies (53%) are using "quiet firing" tactics to push out employees without formal layoffs—including RTO mandates, benefit cuts, and increased workloads—though 88% admit it's tanking morale.
Birmingham Business Journal: Gen Z is bearing the brunt of RTO mandates—82% report new office requirements in 2025 (vs. 47% overall), while 84% are actively job hunting for more flexible roles, signaling a generational workplace divide.
HR Brew: UK workers are leading the RTO rebellion—only 42% would comply with office mandates (down from 54% in 2022), while half would job hunt and 10% would quit immediately if forced back full-time.
STAT OF THE WEEK 📈
Fortune 500 Shifts Towards Office
The Fortune 500 saw the most notable shifts in policies. While 87% of Fortune 500 firms took a flexible approach to workplace policy in Q2 of 2024, that decreased to 76% in Q2 of 2025. The Fortune 500 is still more flexible than the average (67%) although the gap has narrowed.
This has been the result of two key shifts:
Away from Employee Choice programs down from 13% last year to 7%, and into Structured Hybrid
Migration out of Structured Hybrid, especially Specific Days, towards Full Time in Office
FLEXPERT INSIGHTS 🧠
The Training Gap: Why Your Teams Are Struggling
Here's the stat that should concern every executive: only 25% of managers have received training to lead distributed teams, yet most organizational teams today are scattered across locations and time zones.
Brian Elliott's latest piece in Work Forward cuts straight to the issue—we're asking people to navigate complex cross-functional collaboration without a roadmap, then wondering why productivity tanks. The problem isn't that "hybrid is hard." It's that leading distributed teams is hard, and distributed is now the norm.
The solution isn't more office mandates. It's systematic investment in the capabilities that actually make distributed work succeed.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT ✨
Human8 is a digital consulting firm specializing in humanizing businesses through digital transformation, building digital capabilities, and implementing digital strategies. Founded in 2015, the company aims to bridge the gap between businesses and customers with its innovative strategies and digital-centric approach for a sustainable future.