DOGE Pushes RTO Mandates: What Leaders Should Know

Heating up the return-to-office mandate debate, the Department of Government Efficiency wants to force federal workers back to the office. In this brief video, hybrid work expert Brian Elliott explores potential impacts for government and private-sector leaders.

[Editor’s note: On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order mandating a return to office for federal agency workers, as predicted in late 2024. Watch this video with Brian Elliott to hear what the data says about remote work and productivity at federal agencies. Also, learn how to push back if leaders at your organization are similarly considering a return-to-office mandate.]

The incoming Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, slated to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has entered the return-to-office mandate debate. Musk is publicly pushing for federal workers to return to their agencies’ offices. The quiet part being said out loud: Soft layoffs of federal employees are part of the plan. What might this push mean for both government and private-sector leaders and their teams, and hybrid work in general?

In this brief video, hybrid work expert and MIT SMR columnist Brian Elliott shares advice and research data that touches on several related topics:

• What research data says about RTO mandates and efficiency gains
• Impacts of soft layoffs
• The shift that some executives are missing about “office buzz”
• Government Accountability Office data on remote work by federal employees
• Potential ripple effects for leaders in the government and private sectors
• Three key points on how to make the case against RTO mandates

For more context and research data, watch Elliott’s related video, “RTO Mandates: Hard Truths for Leaders,” and see his article “Return-to-Office Mandates: How to Lose Your Best Performers.”