The return to the office once seemed inevitable. A new study shows companies are already reversing course

Extensive headlines about companies ordering employees back to the office might make the return to the office seem inevitable. Do these headlines reflect the reality–or are they just clickbait for anxious workers who want to avoid the threat of a forced return?

Recent survey data from The Conference Board provides a surprising insight into how companies are approaching hybrid workplace policies. After surveying 1,100 corporate executives across several industries around the globe, including 24% from the U.S., the findings revealed that the return-to-office mandates of companies such as Amazon, Disney, and Starbucks represent the exception, not the rule. In fact, of the CEOs from the U.S., a puny 3%  indicated they would decrease the availability of remote work in their companies.

Meanwhile, 5% of respondents said they would expand their hybrid work policies. Even Elon Musk, after initially ordering all Twitter staff back to the office, has now reversed course. He embraced remote work by closing Twitter’s Seattle and Singapore offices, telling all staff to work remotely.

Moreover, many employees are pushing back strongly against the return-to-office mandates, leading to a rise in worker power and even unionization as a response to these top-down dictates. Such trends show that the forced return to the office may reverse in the next few months.