Bosses admit they’re using return-to-office mandates to trim down teams—without needing to announce layoffs

Rather than trimming down headcounts by enforcing layoffs, business leaders from across the U.S. told the Federal Reserve Beige Book they’re hoping that upping their in-person requirements will do the job. 

The Fed Beige Book report, published eight times a year, summarizes current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It is based on interviews with business leaders, economists, and other local contacts for a real-time look at the economy.

The report highlighted that multiple districts this month have “encouraged” attrition with return-to-office mandates.

A separate survey of 849 managers reveals 3 in 10 companies will require employees to work in-office five days a week by the end of the year, driven by corporate shifts and new regulations. Meanwhile, more than half of Fortune 100 desk workers already have workplaces with fully in-office policies, according to new data from real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle. 

Just yesterday, tech giant Microsoft said its employees will be required to go back into the office 3 days per week. Though Microsoft has had rounds of letting people go this year, Amy Coleman, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, assured employees in a memo yesterday “this update is not about reducing headcount,” and instead is “about working together in a way that enables us to meet our customers’ needs.”

Workers aren’t sold on badging in—but the grass may not be greener on the other side

Almost half of workers say that if their employer no longer allowed them to work from home, they would be unlikely to stay at their job, including about a quarter who say they’d be very unlikely to stay, according to a 2025 poll by Pew Research Center. 

But even for the workerks who ditch their jobs in response to more days commuting to the office, the grass might not be greener on the other side of the corporate job market. 

Across the white collar job market, employment has looked increasingly frozen for job seekers. Non-degree earners like bartenders and baristas in hospitality jobs are seeing bigger wage growth than office workers right now, as demand for in-person job experiences has surged post-pandemic. 

Another nail in the coffin? AI. The Fed’s Beige Book also referenced the technology that is assisting organizations with silently trimming down headcount. 

Bosses have previously admitted RTO mandates were to make staff quit, but some workers are ignoring the new rules  

Though the Fed’s research was published last week, it’s not the first time CEO’s have admitted RTO mandates were meant to make staff quit. 

In 2024, a survey of over 1500 U.S. managers found that a quarter of C-suite executives hoped for some voluntary turnover among workers after implementing a RTO policy—with one in five HR professionals admitting their in-office policy was meant to make staff quit.

But even though bosses are the ones making their staff come back in, they’re the ones who are notably zooming in on in-person meetings themselves. In fact, 93% of CEOs say they don’t go into the office full-time and have instead adopted flexible working patterns.

And despite employers sending out email memos on new mandates, a report from Resume Builder found that 1 in 5 workers are ignoring their new in-person policies too.