This one really names the quiet friction so many of us feel but rarely say out loud.
The return-to-office debate isn’t just logistical—it’s cultural, emotional, even existential. It’s about power, trust, and whether we believe workers know how to care for their own time. What struck me most was the thread of quiet resistance—the sense that people aren’t just pushing back, they’re waking up.
Something deeper is unfolding beneath the policy memos. And this piece catches it.
Thanks so much! Yeah, the RTO battle isn't really about days a week in the office, it's about whether you believe in trust + accountability for performance, or monitoring and control...
Exactly—that’s the deeper tension so many miss. It’s not about office chairs or Zoom fatigue, it’s about worldviews: do we build systems rooted in mutual trust, or ones that assume we need to be watched to matter? The return-to-office debate just exposed the cracks already there. Appreciate how you keep centering the human stakes beneath the policies.
I just don’t understand CEOs who insist on bringing everyone back to the office without any flexibility—especially when the work can be done remotely. A happier workforce is a more productive one. And if you’re so worried that employees aren’t actually working remotely, you’ve got a bigger problem on your hands. Newsflash: They’ll show up to the office and pretend to work there too—except now they’ll be 10 times more miserable, complaining, and stirring up all kinds of passive-aggressive (or not-so-passive-aggressive) havoc.
Interesting statistics. I love the idea Zillow deployed of having "retreats" for employees to come together and spend focused time on specific projects. Thats' a great way to design a flexible work system that prioritizes outcomes over just showing up.
This one really names the quiet friction so many of us feel but rarely say out loud.
The return-to-office debate isn’t just logistical—it’s cultural, emotional, even existential. It’s about power, trust, and whether we believe workers know how to care for their own time. What struck me most was the thread of quiet resistance—the sense that people aren’t just pushing back, they’re waking up.
Something deeper is unfolding beneath the policy memos. And this piece catches it.
Thanks so much! Yeah, the RTO battle isn't really about days a week in the office, it's about whether you believe in trust + accountability for performance, or monitoring and control...
Exactly—that’s the deeper tension so many miss. It’s not about office chairs or Zoom fatigue, it’s about worldviews: do we build systems rooted in mutual trust, or ones that assume we need to be watched to matter? The return-to-office debate just exposed the cracks already there. Appreciate how you keep centering the human stakes beneath the policies.
I just don’t understand CEOs who insist on bringing everyone back to the office without any flexibility—especially when the work can be done remotely. A happier workforce is a more productive one. And if you’re so worried that employees aren’t actually working remotely, you’ve got a bigger problem on your hands. Newsflash: They’ll show up to the office and pretend to work there too—except now they’ll be 10 times more miserable, complaining, and stirring up all kinds of passive-aggressive (or not-so-passive-aggressive) havoc.
Interesting statistics. I love the idea Zillow deployed of having "retreats" for employees to come together and spend focused time on specific projects. Thats' a great way to design a flexible work system that prioritizes outcomes over just showing up.
They've done a great job building up their program; I also described it in a bit more detail here:
https://www.charterworks.com/brian-elliott-lessons-on-in-person-time/