Hybrid Work Is Not the Problem — Poor Leadership Is
Learn from companies that are succeeding with hybrid work models — by building teams that are rewarded for performance, not appearances.
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Alice Mollon / Ikon Images
Leaders who are pushing for four or five days in the office are fixated on the wrong problem. Hybrid work is not a policy challenge — it’s a leadership capability challenge. Organizations that are excelling under flexible work policies have common characteristics that have nothing to do with specific attendance policies. They’re focused on measuring results, not physical presence, and giving employee teams the autonomy, tools, and redesigned office spaces that drive superior outcomes.
“My CEO just came back from another CEO event, and he’s on a rampage about return-to-office.”
The three of us coauthors hear a variation of this every week. The pattern is familiar: CEOs return from a peer gathering convinced that really getting everyone back to the office will solve productivity concerns, cultural disconnection, and competitive pressures. They’ve heard anecdotes about disengaged employees who are not complying with the return-to-office (RTO) mandates that have been put in place, and they’re ready to order stricter rules when it comes to office attendance.
What’s both fascinating and frustrating about these conversations is that these leaders are fixated on the wrong problem. They’re treating hybrid work as a policy challenge. It’s not! It’s a leadership capability challenge. While they debate cranking up in-office days per week and what punishments they might use to threaten employees, other companies, including their competitors, are paying a lot less attention to whether teams collaborate from home, the office, or anywhere in between, and are building an organizational strength that drives superior business results.
Each of us has worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies across industries, including financial services leaders like Allstate and Capital One and defense contractors like Teradyne. We’re seeing that the organizations excelling at flexible work today share identical capabilities that have nothing to do with specific attendance policies. Instead, they’ve discovered that workplace transformation isn’t about where people work — it’s about how they work together to drive outcomes.
The Policy Trap: Why RTO Mandates Miss the Mark
Most executives approach hybrid work the same way they approach other business challenges: Set a policy, communicate expectations, and measure compliance. The logic seems sound: If they establish clear rules (like three days in the office each week) and monitor adherence (by tracking badge data, for instance), they should be able to expect positive results (like more work done, more deals closed, or more serendipitous interactions that spark creative ideas). When the policy doesn’t stick and results don’t materialize, executives conclude that hybrid work “doesn’t work.”
RTO mandates have put managers in a bind. Our analysis of over 8,500 U.S. companies through the Flex Index, combined with the U.S.
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