Experts Say CEOs Must Face The Facts About Flexibility

• Despite the success of hybrid and remote models, many CEOs continue to push for in-office work.
• Companies like Amazon risk losing top talent and innovation by enforcing strict return-to-office mandates.
• Flexibility in work arrangements is critical for retention, especially for women in leadership roles.

CEOs are stuck in the dark ages.

This statement can apply to many areas, but here it’s about their stubborn push to bring people back to the office, even though it’s clear that neither employees nor many leaders are eager for it.

Experts came together to discuss the future of work — spotlighting the ever-growing tension between flexibility and traditional office mandates — in a recent thought-provoking webinar “Remote, Hybrid, or RTO? Headlines Versus Hard Data,” hosted by Roam. The webinar featured Fortune’s Jane Thier, Atlassian’s Annie Dean, Stanford’s Nick Bloom, and Work Forward’s Brian Elliott. 

This conversation brought to the forefront key trends that are transforming the world of work, with a focus on hybrid and remote work models, AI-powered technologies, and the changing patterns of leadership in corporate environments.

At the heart of the discussion was the larger trend that flexibility in work is no longer a perk—it’s the expectation. 

The Rise of Remote and Hybrid Work: A CEO Dilemma

Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford and director of the National Bureau of Economic Research, pointed out that the majority of large corporations (80% of the Fortune 500, for instance) have adopted hybrid or fully remote work structures. 

Despite this change, there remains significant resistance among certain CEO cohorts, particularly those with older, more traditional views on leadership.

He attributed much of the resistance to the leadership attributes of older male CEOs, often driven by concerns about control and headcount. 

For example, companies like Amazon have used the return-to-office (RTO) push as a mechanism for reducing headcount, possibly as a cost-cutting strategy. 

This creates a paradox—despite data showing that hybrid and remote work can drive productivity, some companies are reverting to in-office mandates not because of a decline in performance, but due to internal pressures related to control and economic strategies.

AI and the Digital Transformation of Work

Dean, leading Atlassian’s internal research lab “Team Anywhere,” added an insightful dimension to the conversation by highlighting the central role of AI in transforming how work gets done. 

According to Dean, we are in the midst of a digital transformation that fundamentally alters the way people engage with information. With tools like AI-powered search engines, agents, and communication platforms, traditional office spaces seem increasingly obsolete.

Despite this, many CEOs seem stuck in a mindset focused on physical office spaces rather than how work is actually happening.

Dean emphasized that the conversation should shift from “where” work is happening to “how” it is happening. 

She believes that AI technologies like chatbots and tools like Rovo at Atlassian are already transforming workflows, and that the resistance to embracing this shift is largely due to a lack of leadership that owns the transformation process. 

Without a dedicated champion for how work should evolve in the digital age, many companies fall back on outdated strategies that don’t align with the changing needs of the workforce.

The Leadership Challenge: Fear of Losing Control

Elliott, the CEO of Work Forward, echoed Dean’s point about outdated leadership perspectives. 

Drawing from his time at Slack, he noted that many companies, especially those led by older male CEOs, struggle to let go of traditional management methods. 

These leaders often view physical presence as a proxy for accountability, fearing that remote workers might not be productive. 

Elliott described how some CEOs have expressed concerns about employees working from home, questioning whether they are “walking the dog” instead of working.

This mindset of “management by walking around” is no longer effective, according to Elliott, who advocates for a shift towards “performance synchrony” — focusing on results rather than physical presence. 

The shift to hybrid work, as he explained, offers a massive opportunity for companies to rethink their management strategies. By moving away from attendance metrics and embracing a focus on performance and outcomes, companies can increase organizational effectiveness and foster a more inclusive, flexible workplace.

AI-Powered Enterprises: A Level Playing Field for Remote Teams

Dean and Elliott also highlighted the importance of redesigning workspaces and offering innovative solutions to support distributed teams. 

Companies that are successfully navigating the hybrid transition are investing in AI-powered tools and enhancing collaboration across locations. 

For instance, some companies are using savings from reducing office space to fund travel budgets for distributed teams or redesigning their offices to better support small, cross-functional teams.

The trend of creating “smaller teams within larger organizations” was emphasized as a key to performance. 

By giving teams more autonomy and flexibility, and encouraging them to experiment with new ways of working, companies can foster greater innovation and productivity—without the need for a strict return to the office.

The Unmet Leadership Need and RTO Pushback

The webinar also explored the idea that many CEOs may not be hearing enough voices of reason when it comes to RTO decisions. 

As Elliott noted, in many boardrooms, discussions around return-to-office mandates often lack pushback from those with a more progressive view on the future of work. 

The absence of a dedicated leader responsible for designing the future of work may be causing many companies to default to the familiar comfort of pre-pandemic office life, despite evidence that hybrid work models can improve both productivity and employee satisfaction.

In the long run, leaders who resist the transformation towards flexible work may find themselves at a disadvantage, as the workforce continues to evolve and as technology reshapes traditional corporate structures. 

The key, as all speakers agreed, is for companies to embrace a future driven by AI, flexibility, and performance, rather than trying to recapture the past.

The Bottom Line: A Critical Moment for Future Work

The speakers underscored that the future of work is no longer about where employees are physically located — it’s about how work gets done. 

Companies that continue to resist the hybrid and remote trend risk falling behind, as the digital transformation—fueled by AI and new technologies — will continue to disrupt traditional work models. 

Those that embrace change, redesign their workplaces, and focus on performance will be the leaders of tomorrow, creating a new era of work that’s less about “butts in seats” and more about achieving tangible results. 

The topic of Amazon’s push for a return-to-office (RTO) mandate sparked a fiery discussion as well, highlighting deep concerns about leadership strategies in a post-pandemic world. 

Amazon’s RTO and Talent Exodus

The webinar featured an eye-opening account from a participant whose friends at Amazon were actively seeking new jobs, driven by the company’s upcoming five-day RTO mandate. 

Amazon’s push for employees to return to the office is expected to backfire, particularly in the highly competitive field of AI. 

Top performers, especially those in cities like Seattle, are already fielding offers from major tech players like OpenAI and Microsoft — companies that offer flexibility and remote work options, such as allowing employees to work from home three days a week.

The concern here is clear: while Amazon might save costs by reducing its headcount through forced departures, it risks damaging its long-term growth by losing its best talent. 

In a time when the demand for top-tier professionals is high, this could be a massive blow to the company’s innovation and ability to compete.

The Swiss Cheese Problem: Resistance from Middle Management

One of the more provocative observations was the growing resistance among Amazon’s middle management to the five-day in-office requirement. 

The argument put forth was that managers who disagree with the policy may silently ignore it to preserve team performance. In other words, if star performers push back against the mandate, managers — fearing the loss of productivity and morale—are likely to turn a blind eye. 

The result? A “Swiss cheese” scenario where the policy has holes, and while it may appear enforced on paper, it is largely ignored in practice.

This situation isn’t unique to Amazon; it reflects a broader issue many organizations are facing: How do you enforce a rigid office return policy in a world where employees and managers alike are increasingly accustomed to flexible work arrangements?

Headcount Reduction or Flexibility Push?

The panel also discussed the possibility that Amazon’s RTO move could be less about productivity and more about headcount reduction. 

By enforcing a stricter office presence, the company may be trying to weed out employees who are unwilling to comply with the mandate, effectively cutting costs. However, this comes at the cost of employee satisfaction and retention, potentially hurting the company’s competitive edge in the long run.

As for the idea of requiring five days in the office, the consensus was that it is unlikely to be fully enforced. 

The gap between what is claimed (five days) and what is actually happening (likely three days for most employees) will only widen as managers and employees find workarounds to make the policy more palatable. 

A more realistic scenario, as discussed, is that Amazon may walk back its strict RTO policy in the near future, rebranding it with a new “futuristic” management approach to save face.

Gender Inequality and RTO 

The issue of the return to the office’s impact on women emerged as another hot topic, and the panel highlighted how RTO mandates disproportionately affect women, especially those balancing childcare responsibilities. 

Studies, like one from Upwork, revealed that 63% of execs found that women were most likely to leave due to rigid office requirements. 

For many women, the flexibility of remote work has been a game changer, offering the balance needed to thrive in both family life and leadership positions.

The discussion concluded with a powerful argument from Dean, who pointed out that flexibility isn’t just a “nice-to-have” — it’s critical for advancing women into leadership roles. 

She argued that if companies truly want to foster equality and improve business operations, flexibility, enabled by technology, is essential. 

Remote and Hybrid Work Works

Another one of the most striking insights was that remote and hybrid teams not only boost employee retention but also enhance performance. 

Research revealed that companies with hybrid or remote setups saw 33% lower attrition and higher growth rates. 

This trend is particularly evident in startups, where hybrid models outperform traditional office setups in terms of productivity and innovation.

From a financial perspective, flexible work schedules also offer significant cost savings for businesses. 

With the ability to hire from more geographically diverse and lower-cost regions, companies can reduce overhead and increase access to a broader talent pool. 

This not only drives down operational costs but also fuels greater innovation as diverse perspectives are brought to the table.

The discussion also highlighted how companies like Atlassian are leading the way with their Intentional Togetherness program. 

By bringing teams together a few times a year for immersive, in-person experiences, they’ve successfully enhanced team connection without requiring constant office presence, proving that occasional in-person interactions can have a long-lasting impact on team cohesion.

In short, the panel’s message was clear: A bad management policy that goes against the grain of employee expectations is not only difficult to enforce — it’s a recipe for long-term dissatisfaction and talent loss. 

And in the fast-paced, tech-driven world we live in, companies that can’t keep up with the future of work risk being left behind.