Return to office: a power grab masquerading as policy
The return to office push means workers who moved to affordable areas now face long commutes, higher fuel costs, and childcare disruptions just to sit in open-plan silence and take Zoom calls they could’ve done from home, says Michael Dunn.
Let’s stop pretending return-to-office mandates are about collaboration. They’re not about team culture or innovation. They’re about control.Â
Executives who built their power on parking passes, proximity, and title inflation are demanding a return to rituals that reinforce their relevance. The corner office means little when the top-performing team member is working from Kerry or Kraków. What we’re witnessing isn’t a strategy, it’s a cultural counterattack from a generation that feels left behind.
