After the COVID-19 pandemic drove those who could work from home to do so, many employees and companies determined how to make working from home, or WFH, work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports annual average labor productivity rose 5.4% in 2020, then fell to 2.0% in 2021, and -1.5% in 2022.¹
As the world emerged from the worst of the outbreak, several organizations attempted to bring their workforce back to the workplace, either full time or for a certain number of days per week, called a hybrid model. Apple, for example, implemented WFH in 2020 but later initiated a hybrid model, starting with two days a week in office and progressing to three. Disney now requires staff to be in the office four days a week and X requires 40 hours per week in the office from its employees.
The federal government’s January 2025 announcement that all federal workers are required to return to the office drove even more companies, especially government contractors, to compliance. So far, Amazon, Dell, UPS, and The Boeing Company are leading the move to five days a week in the office, with many more companies expected to follow suit.
For women in STEM and women in general, these return-to-office, or RTO, mandates are proving to be a turning point in their careers. Returning to the office full time or on a hybrid schedule can present certain challenges and possible benefits, and the decision may affect long-term career progression.
Impact on women
RTO mandates may be affecting women disproportionately. One study revealed that not only do firms experience abnormally high employee turnover following RTO mandates, but the increase in turnover is more pronounced among women and more senior and skilled employees.
“For people who moved away during the pandemic and then were called back to work, are they going to pick up their lives that they have developed in this new place? Maybe they recently bought a home in another state, got their children settled in new school systems, and worked it out to have hybrid solutions.”
– Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D.
For their paper “Return to Office Mandates, Brain Drain and Gender Difference,”² (Elsevier Inc., revised Oct. 31, 2025) researchers in the United States and China tracked the employment histories of more than 3 million workers who were employed in 54 large technology and financial firms in the S&P 500 that implemented RTO mandates between 2020 and 2023. The study found these firms experienced a 13%-14% average increase in turnover rates, with the rate for women nearly three times the average. Women employees are more affected by RTO mandates, the study states, due to greater family responsibilities that increase their demand for workplace flexibility and work/life balance.
“We have colleagues who are working the sandwich generation, where they’re taking care of elderly family members as well as children,” says Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D., vice chancellor, inclusive excellence, and adjunct professor, electrical and computer engineering, at University of California, Davis. Dr. Tull is an international speaker on global diversity in STEM whose work covers inclusivity in engineering and work/life balance. “For people who moved away during the pandemic and then were called back to work, are they going to pick up their lives that they have developed in this new place? Maybe they recently bought a home in another state, got their children settled in new school systems, and worked it out to have hybrid solutions.”
When women do leave because of RTO mandates, the study says they are more likely than men (4.6% versus 3.1%) to take a lower-ranking position in a different industry. As wages usually decrease when a person moves to a lower-ranked position in a different industry, the findings suggest that RTO mandates are likely to exacerbate gender pay gaps.
The United States Census Bureau’s publication “Income in the United States: 2024” shows that among full-time, year-round workers, median earnings increased 3.7% for men, but did not change significantly for women between 2023 and 2024. And the women-to-men earnings ratio fell from 82.7% in 2023 to 80.9% in 2024.³
Some women, the report states, may not be able to change jobs as quickly as men due to gender biases in the job market and limited opportunities for promotion. For this reason, RTO mandates are likely to result in greater gender inequality in the workplace even if women do not leave.
What Flexibility Built: How Remote Work Opened Doors for Women in STEM — and What’s at Stake as They Close
“These RTO mandates are typically happening at the top, and unfortunately, at present, the top is disproportionately white, male, and older,” says Elizabeth Lotardo, consultant, training creator, and author of Leading Yourself (Wiley, August 2024).⁴ “There are voices who are getting lost in the conversation.”
The BLS reports that approximately 212,000 women aged 20 and older have left the U.S. workforce since January 2025, while 44,000 men entered it during the same period. (See A Closer Look at the Data.) “Women, particularly engineers and those in STEM, are problem-solvers,” Lotardo says. “They are weighing: What am I gaining or losing? A lot of women have decided it’s just not worth it.”
Where are women going?
Many women are entering consulting or starting their own practices, recognizing that flexibility and being their own boss outweighs the perceived benefit of a stable, 9-5, in-office experience, says Lotardo. “Whether it’s a consulting firm, advisory, or content creation in the field of engineering, women are starting to chart their own path. In five to seven years, we’re going to see a huge groundswell come from that.”
For some women, RTO has led to thoughts of retirement. “For my colleagues working in other sectors, it had been contentious when they were told they had to return to the office, because people were not given a lot of time and notice to make decisions,” says Dr. Tull. “They had already made lifestyle changes during the pandemic, and it was difficult for them. Some have weighed their options and decided to take early retirement.”
She says other experienced women are considering if there is another department where the schedule is different, or if they have another skill or can upskill so they can move into another area with more autonomy.
“Women who work remotely, even women who work hybrid, are unfortunately often less likely to be considered for promotions and raises than their in-office counterparts because of visibility, hallway conversations, informal lunchtime touch points.”
– Elizabeth Lotardo
For those who graduated during the pandemic and new graduates joining the workforce now, the changing employment landscape poses another dilemma. “In the job market right now, new hires are scared they’re not going to get jobs,” says Wendy Cocke, founder of Engineering Leadership Solutions and author of two books on helping people think about work differently.
“Every semester, more students are graduating who don’t know what this return looks like, that have nothing to return to. Are they living in a place where they can RTO? Are they living at home, and now they need to move? The company didn’t pay relocation fees when they hired them, now are they going to pay ‘location’ fees?”
Length of time in the workforce and the value newer employees bring to the organization are factors in determining the negotiation position of workers as they face these options, says Cocke. “The reality is the business has a job that needs to be done. It doesn’t care that there was a pandemic, and that you’ve not worked in this office. If they can figure out how to do the job easier without you than with you, that’s a problem. If what the business needs right now is for you to be in the office, you must figure out how to play that game, or how to rewrite the rules of the game.”
Cocke says new hires may be exceptionally positioned to address workplace options with creative ideas. “If you went to high school and college through a pandemic, you picked up some tips and tricks,” says Cocke. “You have a lot of tools in your toolbox on how to do things creatively.” (Read her suggestions in “Negotiating a Flex-Work Arrangement,” below.)
Factors to consider
Current figures show the adoption of RTO in the corporate sector may be moving more slowly than it may first appear. A Gallup Workplace analysis says hybrid work has remained stable since 2022, with just 9% of tech workers fully on-site. The study shows remote-capable employees in the tech sector are likely to be fully remote (47%) or hybrid (45%).⁵ But if faced with a full RTO mandate, there are long-term impacts for women STEM professionals to consider.
One Harvard Business Review article, “How Remote Work Impacts Women at Different Stages of Their Careers,”⁶ suggests the effect of RTO on a woman’s career may depend on her career stage and whether she is on the receiving or giving end of mentorship. Authors Natalia Emanuel, Ph.D., Emma Harrington, Ph.D., and Amanda Pallais, Ph.D., studied the professional development of women software engineers at a Fortune 500 company, and discovered that junior women engineers benefit significantly from in-person mentorship. More junior women asked more follow-up questions when they sat near colleagues and received feedback from a greater number of people, both men and women. In total, junior women receive 40% more feedback when sitting near colleagues.
A Global Perspective: How Much Progress Is At Risk?
On the other hand, more senior women face reduced productivity due to increased mentoring duties. They spent more time giving feedback, thus producing less. Since this form of training is invisible work that is hard to identify and reward, senior women who sat near their teammates and offered mentoring received fewer pay raises than if they were not sitting near their junior colleagues and getting more work accomplished.
Remote jobs may also make it easier for employers to replace workers with artificial intelligence (AI), according to “Organizational Technology Ladders: Remote Work and Generative AI Adoption”.⁷ The study, covering firms in professional and technical services, health care and social assistance, construction and real estate, manufacturing, business support and financial services, education, trade and transportation, and hospitality and entertainment, says firms that embraced remote work early are adopting automation technology like generative AI and ChatGPT faster and relying on new remote hires less.
That’s because firms that adopt technologies early often find that bringing aboard the next innovation costs less. Companies that implemented WFH tech were more likely to jump onto the AI trend, the study shows. The adoption of AI reduced employers’ remote hiring by 13%.
Back at the office
In planning for RTO at her workplace, Dr. Tull borrowed from the corporate sector, reading Entrepreneur and Forbes magazine articles to see what some companies were doing to make the transition easier. Options included perks such as having food available for staff, giving people opportunities to make their own flexible schedules, and considering having anchor days in the office, which ended up being the solution that worked best for her team. This hybrid approach designates specific days when everyone is expected to work in the office, balanced by other days that can be worked remotely.
Dr. Tull says national and international engineering organizations, including two she’s a member of — Latin and Caribbean Consortium for Engineering Institutions and International Federation of Engineering Education Societies — have worked hard to ensure they offer informational sessions on RTO and WFH topics for women at conferences and on other platforms.
“If they can figure out how to do the job easier without you than with you, that’s a problem. If what the business needs right now is for you to be in the office, you must figure out how to play that game, or how to rewrite the rules of the game.”
– Wendy Cocke
“I’m a big proponent of collegial relationships in your place of work but also in your professional associations, in your discipline-specific associations,” Dr. Tull says. “Go to all the meetings so there’s an opportunity to connect, converse, take care of yourself, upskill. We as women must take time for that.”
The Society of Women Engineers has several resources on subjects related to work schedules. See “Selected SWE Resources,” below.
RTO advantages
As difficult as RTO mandates can be, there are advantages to working in an office, Lotardo says.
“Women who work remotely, even women who work hybrid, are unfortunately often less likely to be considered for promotions and raises than their in-office counterparts because of visibility, hallway conversations, informal lunchtime touch points,” she says. “RTO mandates or requests, however they are branded, are resulting in women getting promoted, women accelerating in their careers, [being involved] in more visible projects, in mentorship — all the things that we know are rocket fuel for a career.”
So, anyone choosing to stay with an employer that is mandating in-person work should take advantage of those opportunities, Lotardo says. Schedule time to connect with others, build relationships, and take advantage of any increased opportunities for mentoring, sponsorship, or visibility.
Lotardo cautions against leaving a position you like for one that you may like less, just because the job offers remote work flexibility. That is because there is an unfortunate trend in corporate bait-and-switch. Companies may list roles as remote or hybrid only to disclose later that they’re not or change their mind and issue an RTO mandate after the hire, she says.
What is important is to keep an open mind, weigh the positives and negatives, and keep lines of communication open with management. “What is not serving anyone is assumptions from leadership that women who say RTO might not be for me don’t care about work, or women making assumptions [about] their employers who are asking for an RTO mandate, saying they don’t care about family,” Lotardo says. “We must be willing to hear both sides and hopefully meet on a ground that works for everyone, resulting in some cross-compartmental collaboration, visibility, promotions, and flexibility for varying seasons of life.”
Negotiating a Flex-Work Arrangement
If you’ve been presented with an RTO mandate, you may not need to take it at face value. There may be room for negotiation with your employer, depending on the circumstances.
Wendy Cocke is the founder of Engineering Leadership Solutions and author of two books, Making Flex Work and Reimagine Your Work. (See engineeringleadershipsolutions.com.) She says her four-step EVALuation method for building a business case for schedule flexibility can be helpful when discussing options with your employer.
“Approach this like a business negotiation,” she says. “Where we sometimes struggle is that we make it personal or emotional. If you can turn what it is that you want to do into a business decision, you can have a negotiation about it.”
Here are the steps:
E – Every hour counts.
Document your current workday. In engineering terms, you can consider this a current state analysis or baseline that clearly delineates what you are contributing. Record your time — when you start working, stop working, and all the times you start and stop working throughout the day. It is possible to work six hours and feel like you worked 12 because your six was scattered throughout the day. Be honest with yourself but also count every minute.
V- Value optimized work.
Do a little process engineering on yourself. Are there things that take you more time than they should? Is there a skill that you don’t have that you need to learn? Is there a tool you don’t have access to that would make your job easier? Does somebody else do a certain task faster, and can you ask them for mentorship? In this way, you can begin negotiations with how you’re helping your employer because you’ve already done the homework for them. Show your employer that you are willing and able to upskill and continuously improve from wherever you work.
A – Assess the expectations.
Look at what’s on your plate. Are you the right person to be doing these tasks at this point in your career? Is it time to let someone else try? Some research on burnout shows it’s not the job that causes burnout, it’s everything else, such as serving on a committee, facilitating a standing meeting, coordinating a team activity, or other non-job-related tasks. Understand what the “everything else’’ is for you and determine if they provide value to you or the organization. If not, consider dropping or delegating the tasks.
L – Leverage small changes.
This is like doing a kaizen on yourself in engineering terms. Make slow, methodical changes with your tasks and experiment with your time to see what works best for you. Engineers who understand process controls know you would never go to a machine and just turn the dial — it would send the system out of control. You cannot do that for yourself either, Cocke says. By making these changes in how you work small enough, they can be reversible if they do not work, and you can start to focus in on what you want.
Present all the data to your employer, propose your solution for a flexible work arrangement (whether WFH, hybrid, or a different schedule), and how you know it will not impact the business adversely. You may want to ask for a 60- or 90-day trial period.
“It’s hard to say yes to the unknown, especially if you’re asking to do something in a way that the leader has never conceived it could be done,” says Cocke. “They’re much more likely to say yes when they know there’s an end and if it’s not serving them, it will expire.” — RH
References
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Productivity up 2.3 percent in 2024, (visited Nov. 6, 2025).
- Ding, Y., Jin, Z., Ma, Mark (Shuai), Xing, Betty (Bin)., Yang, Y., (Oct. 31, 2025). “Return to Office Mandates and Brain Drain.”
- Kollar, M., and Scherer, Z. (Sept. 9, 2024). “Income in the United States 2024.” United States Census Bureau.
- Leading Yourself by Elizabeth Lotardo. Wiley, August 2024.
- Pendell, R. (September 2025). “Hybrid Work in Retreat? Barely.” Gallup Workplace.
- Emanuel, N., Harrington, E., and Pallais, A. (June 11, 2024). “How Remote Work Impacts Women at Different Stages of Their Careers.” Harvard Business Review.
- Schubert, G. (Jan. 10, 2025). “Organizational Technology Ladders: Remote Work and Generative AI Adoption.” SSRN/Elsevier.
Selected SWE Resources
“What Flexibility Built: How Remote Work Opened Doors for Women in STEM — and What’s at Stake as They Close,” All Together blog, Nov. 12, 2025.
“The Flexibility Divide: How Global Return-to-Office Mandates Threaten Women’s Progress in STEM,” All Together blog, Dec. 8, 2025.
SWE Magazine. (Spring 2022). “Return to the Office: Making the Switch.”
View video clips of interviews with Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Lotardo on SWE’s YouTube channel.
