Want to See Poor Leadership? Follow a Company’s RTO Policy

Corporate America’s return-to-office (RTO) mandates have become case studies in leadership—for better and for worse. Some organizations, like Microsoft, have handled the transition with clarity, empathy, and professionalism. Their Chief People Officer issued a memo that not only communicated the policy but also reinforced trust in leadership.

And then there is everyone else.

CNBC recently published an article citing Stanford professor Nick Bloom’s research on remote work trends, based on a recurring survey of 10,000 Americans. His findings show that despite corporate pressure, remote work remains steady: employees still spend about 25% of their time at home, unchanged since 2023. Even more telling, 43% of workers admit to “coffee badging”—showing up at the office briefly to signal compliance before heading back home.

Companies, in response, have doubled down on tracking software and monitoring systems to enforce compliance. Predictably, these tools have proven inconsistent, unreliable, and corrosive—creating wedges of distrust and micromanagement between leadership and their workforce.

While the article points the finger at mid-level managers, we at the Esteemed MBA School of Leadership & Management see the root issue differently. RTO failures are not a management problem. They are a leadership problem.

Leadership Principle 1: What the Leader Prioritizes, the Organization Prioritizes

Bloom’s research notes that managers often ignore RTO mandates because they are measured on team effectiveness, not attendance. If their teams are performing well, the location of the work is irrelevant.

This is not a failure of middle management—it’s a failure of leadership. If RTO were truly a top priority, it would have been defined, communicated, and measured accordingly. Instead, employees sense half-hearted enforcement and respond in kind.

Organizations reflect their leaders. Jeff Bezos was obsessed with efficiency and scale—and Amazon’s culture followed. Steve Jobs prioritized simplicity—Apple’s culture followed. Bill Gates was fanatical about clean, lightweight code—Microsoft’s culture followed. Whatever a leader is focused on, so too will be the organization.

Leadership Principle 2: Start with the Why

The CNBC article makes one thing painfully clear: few companies have provided a compelling reason why employees should return to the office.

At the Esteemed MBA, we stress a simple truth: “Where there is a lack of information, negativity fills the void.” When leaders fail to explain the purpose of an initiative, employees will invent their own assumptions: “They don’t trust us.” “They want to micromanage.” “They’re squeezing more productivity.” These narratives erode culture and morale, and they are entirely preventable—with strong leadership.

Leadership Principle 3: Managers Are Conduits, Not Enforcers

We teach our students to view managers as conduits of information, not hall monitors. Think of a military analogy: generals stand on the hill, defining the strategy and priorities. Captains, majors, and lieutenants carry those directives up and down the hill, ensuring the troops understand why they are fighting and communicating back what the troops need to succeed.

Captains never count how many soldiers show up at the battlefield. That’s a given—because the purpose of the mission has been clearly defined by leadership.

When leaders roll out an RTO mandate without clear reasoning or priority, they force managers into the role of compliance officers. This is not leadership; it is abdication.

The Real Cause of RTO Failures

The next time you read about another RTO debacle, don’t chalk it up to “old companies” not understanding the modern workforce. The truth is simpler: the leaders behind those mandates never truly cared enough to prioritize, explain, or align their organization behind the initiative.

Poorly explained RTO policies are like a five o’clock shadow—unconvincing, inconsistent, and a visible sign of neglect.

Great leadership, by contrast, sets priorities with conviction, communicates purpose with clarity, and empowers managers as conduits of alignment—not enforcers of attendance.

That’s the difference between a failed mandate and a culture that moves together.

Be Esteemed.