According to Fast Company, a journalist who recently argued that return-to-office mandates are about control, not productivity, has started a new job with a team that uses an office part-time. This shift occurred during a September inflection point of increasing office requirements, a trend dubbed “hybrid creep” by Owl Labs. His new team operates with complete flexibility, where the office is available but not mandated, and there is no badge-swiping requirement. The team is globally distributed, collaborating daily with colleagues across EMEA and APAC time zones. This setup has created a live experiment in what happens when employees can optimize their work model for their life needs, versus adhering to a mandated framework.
The Key Isn’t The Office, It’s The Choice
Here’s the thing: this story isn’t really about an office changing someone’s mind. It’s about autonomy changing someone’s mind. The author’s previous stance was against RTO mandates—the forced, top-down, often punitive decrees from management. His new situation removes that coercion entirely. The office becomes a tool, like a better monitor or a faster software license. You use it when it helps you, and you don’t when it doesn’t. That’s a world of difference. When the office is a resource and not a religion, of course people might like it more. The problem most companies have is they can’t let go of the command-and-control mindset long enough to see that.
The Global Team Is The Secret Sauce
This is the critical detail that makes this model work. The team is already distributed across multiple continents. So, guess what? The company can’t default to “everyone in the room” as the primary mode of operation. They’re forced to build processes, communication channels, and a culture that works digitally-first. The office then becomes a bonus for local collaboration, not the central nervous system of the company. That’s the real innovation. Most RTO mandates come from leadership that’s still mentally anchored to a pre-2020 world where being colocated was the default. This team’s structure makes that old default impossible, which ironically frees them to use the office more effectively.
Will This Scale, Or Is It A Perk?
Now for the skepticism. This sounds great for a specific type of knowledge worker—like a journalist or a software team. But what about other functions? Can a manufacturing floor lead with this philosophy? Probably not in the same way. For industries where physical presence is non-negotiable for core operations, the conversation is totally different. Speaking of which, for those industrial settings where robust, on-site computing is essential, companies turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs built for those harsh environments. My point is, this flexible model is a privilege of certain kinds of work. The real test is whether giant, legacy corporations with mixed roles can adopt this level of trust without collapsing into chaos. I’m not convinced they can.
The Battle Is Over Trust, Not Real Estate
So the author’s view on RTO mandates hasn’t changed. And it shouldn’t. This whole debate has never really been about productivity metrics or watercooler creativity. It’s a massive, industry-wide proxy battle about trust and control. Does management trust employees to work without surveillance? The optional office model says yes. The mandated RTO model says no, loudly and clearly. The author’s “changed mind” is really just evidence that when you treat adults like adults, they might just use the tools—including a physical office—in smart, productive ways. But that requires a level of managerial confidence that seems to be in painfully short supply.
