The writing is on the wall. Microsoft is mandating 3 days in the office by 2026, effectively saying Teams and remote work tools can’t match in-person collaboration, and CEO Satya Nadella explained that one “unintended consequence” of remote work was losing the social ties that are “necessary for innovation”. Amazon already requires five days. Google and Meta have similar mandates. The RTO wave is coming, whether developers like it or not.
But here’s the thing: instead of waiting to be forced back, smart development teams should be getting ahead of this trend. Not because corporate overlords demand it, but because there are genuine benefits to in-person collaboration that remote work simply cannot replicate. More importantly, by choosing to return voluntarily, teams can control their destiny and demonstrate political savvy that protects their autonomy.
The Real Reason for RTO: Observability and Communication
Ignoring the C-suite rhetoric about “culture” and “innovation,” the real driver behind return-to-office mandates is observability and communication. You might be thinking, “but I have Teams for communication,” but if you’re honest, you’re likely not even using that properly.
In an in-person meeting, it’s trivial to see who is paying attention and getting it, and who (to quote Patrick Winston’s famous MIT lecture) “needs to get back on the bus.” That way you can change tactic and ensure that everyone is on the same page. But if you’re holding a meeting entirely on Teams (or similar), the temptation is to not enable your camera, or worse: enable it and allow yourself to be distracted by reading emails, checking Teams messages, or getting your phone out and disengaging.
Patrick Winston’s "How To Speak" - essential viewing for anyone who communicates complex ideas
The Formula 1 Principle: High-Performance Teams Need Proximity
I’m not advocating for a 100% return to office; just one day a week or sprint will do it. In my ten-plus years as a consultant, the very best teams I’ve worked with are the ones who get together regularly and collaborate in person, from software engineers at F1 teams to ambitious startups. Getting together is key.
The highest-performing teams I’ve encountered share a common trait: they understand that complex problem-solving benefits from bandwidth that video calls simply cannot provide. The subtle body language cues, the ability to quickly sketch on a whiteboard, the spontaneous “what if we tried…” conversations that happen during coffee breaks; these micro-interactions compound into breakthrough moments.
The Remote Work Reality Check
I’ve seen people defend 100% remote working by referencing companies like Stack Overflow and successful startups. But here’s what they’re missing: the big, successful companies who are remote-only hold regular whole-team get-togethers (we used to call these “off-sites”) to build company cohesion and intra-team relationships, and to foster better, more open communication channels across the entire company.
Even fully remote companies invest heavily in bringing people together because they understand what many individual developers don’t: relationships drive results.
Nadella noted that “weak ties become weaker, stronger ties become stronger, and new ties are tough to form” in remote environments. This isn’t corporate speak; it’s a fundamental truth about human collaboration networks that affects innovation capacity.
The Visibility Problem No One Talks About
There’s an old school of thought that says if you can’t be seen, then they don’t know if you’re actually delivering. I’m not talking about Bill Lumbergh from Office Space levels of micromanaging, but I am talking about what your colleagues in other departments might be saying about you and your department.
The fact of the matter is that, at some point, observability will be the one metric you’ll be measured against. They’ll wrap it in excuses about “efficient use of office space,” “in-office equipment not being used,” the expense of renting office space, or the complexity of a remote workforce from a cybersecurity and regulatory perspective. But what they’re really saying is, “we can’t see you.”
And in a lot of companies, being seen is 60% of the battle.
The Microsoft Reality: Data Drives Decisions
Microsoft’s internal studies suggest that remote tools, such as its own Teams platform, fall short in replicating the nuances of office-based teamwork. Think about that for a moment: the company that builds Teams is saying Teams isn’t enough.
Nadella and HR chief Amy Coleman defended this shift by citing internal data showing that employees with greater office presence report higher “thriving scores”—measures of purpose, energy, and connection at work. When a $4 trillion company with access to the world’s best data scientists makes this call, it’s worth paying attention.
Why Startups Are Different (And Why That Doesn’t Apply to You)
Startups can afford to be 100% remote for two reasons:
- They need access to developers who are available at almost any time - often requiring 80+ hour weeks
- They’re the wild west of workplaces - ask anyone who has worked for a startup that failed, and they’ll tell you about unpaid wages, shares that never vest, and unsustainable working conditions
Very often, startups have to break the rules to disrupt and innovate quickly. But enterprises can’t do that. If you’re working for an established company, you’re playing by different rules with different constraints.
The Strategic Play: Control Your Destiny
Here’s where political intelligence becomes crucial. Instead of waiting for a mandate and then complaining about it, smart teams should propose their own hybrid approach. This demonstrates several valuable qualities:
- Proactive thinking: You’re ahead of industry trends
- Business awareness: You understand the broader context driving these decisions
- Team leadership: You’re taking ownership of team effectiveness
- Political savvy: You’re making the company’s decision for them
The Practical Plan: One Day Per Sprint
Here’s the plan that actually works: get everyone in your team together at the office once per sprint and work together in the same physical space. Even if you’re all sitting around the same bank of desks, headphones on, not talking initially. But the key is to be visible and to start talking, in person, with your colleagues.
Work isn’t like an old-school classroom where you’re expected to work in silence or silos. Modern software development thrives on collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving.
Making It Work
- Start small: Propose one day per two-week sprint initially
- Make it valuable: Plan collaborative work for those days - architecture discussions, code reviews, complex problem-solving sessions
- Be flexible: Allow people to adjust the specific day based on personal circumstances
- Measure impact: Track team velocity, bug rates, and team satisfaction
- Communicate upward: Make sure management knows this was your team’s initiative
The Long-Term Game
The teams that embrace this approach voluntarily will find themselves in a much stronger position when the inevitable mandates come down. They’ll have:
- Proven the model works for their specific context
- Built relationships with management as forward-thinking professionals
- Established precedent for their preferred working arrangement
- Demonstrated results that justify their approach
Meanwhile, teams that resist until forced will find themselves with less negotiating power and fewer options.
The Bottom Line
In the AI era, companies are moving faster than ever, and as Microsoft notes, “the most meaningful breakthroughs happen when we build on each other’s ideas together, in real time”.
The question isn’t whether RTO mandates are coming; they’re already here. The question is whether your team will be dragged back kicking and screaming, or whether you’ll strategically position yourselves to get the benefits while maintaining as much autonomy as possible.
Smart developers don’t just write good code; they read the room. And right now, the room is saying that some level of in-person collaboration is the future of knowledge work. The teams that adapt proactively will thrive. Those that don’t will find their choices made for them.
Your move.
We help organisations optimise their developer experience while navigating the changing landscape of hybrid work. Our strategic technology consultation services has helped teams achieve 3-5x productivity improvements through systematic adoption of engineering practices that work regardless of location. Use the form below to contact us and we’ll discuss how to position your team for success in the evolving workplace.