Doesn't Seem that Return-To-Office is Happening Very Quickly

It’s been fascinating to watch the ongoing debate around “return to office” (RTO) versus “work from home” (WFH) unfold over the past couple of years. There’s been no shortage of opinions—executives calling people back, employees pushing back, media stories with loaded headlines—but in many cases, the conversation has felt more political or emotional than data-driven. That’s why it’s so refreshing to come across broader, US-centric data that cuts through the noise and shows us what’s actually happening.

The headline? Despite all the bluster, people aren’t really going back to the office—at least not in the sweeping, five-days-a-week way that some companies would like to imagine. The (data suggests that hybrid work has become the dominant model in knowledge-based industries)[https://wolfstreet.com/2025/02/10/there-hasnt-been-much-if-any-reduction-in-wfh-in-over-2-years-despite-all-the-hype-about-rto/]. The number of fully remote roles may be lower than during the pandemic peak, but most people are not making a full-time return to the office either. It’s become clear that the dramatic push for RTO is more of a corporate narrative than a real trend backed by numbers.

That doesn’t mean the conversation is over, of course. There are real complexities in managing distributed teams, building culture remotely, and ensuring equity across hybrid setups. But we’re well past the phase of “just wait until everyone’s back in the office”. The data suggests they’re not coming. And more importantly, they don’t need to—many teams are functioning well (or even better) with flexibility in place. Productivity, job satisfaction, and access to wider talent pools are driving factors that employers can’t ignore forever.

Ultimately, this is less about nostalgia for the office or idealising remote life, and more about responding to reality. The post-pandemic workplace isn’t a temporary blip; it’s an evolved model. And if we want to build thoughtful, effective, and sustainable work environments, we need to start from a foundation of actual data, not vibes, headlines, or executive hot takes.