It’s the first full working week of the new year, and many of us are heading into offices, hospitals, warehouses, labs, or even…down the hall or downstairs within our homes.

The Wall Street Journal is calling it "hybrid creep" - employers gradually pushing in-office time without explicitly mandating it. COVID was a reckoning for employees and employers. At the peak, 70% of remote-capable employees shifted to working exclusively from home. Before COVID? Just 8%.

But then came the RTOs, the call for face-to-face collaboration, mostly met with skepticism and frustration by employees. Across most studies, working from home was positively associated with productivity.

As frustration increased, the strategy changed; it turned into a slow-motion bait and switch.

You interview for a hybrid role. Three days home, two in the office. Six months later, it's two days home. Then one. Then, "we really need you here for this project."

You've been a top performer at a company for 3+ years, fully remote the entire time. And now? 5-day RTO for...collaboration.

We already know this isn't about productivity. So what is it about? Turns out…it depends on whom you ask.

Employees: Real Estate leases. Optics. Control.

Organizations: Remote is a privilege. Every role is not suited for it. In-person has real value. Leaders get to decide what works for their organization.

Both parties can be correct, depending on the circumstances. But for organizations, the message is clear: DECIDE. Communicate. Commit. Stop moving the goalposts and pretending it's "flexibility."

Because here's what hybrid creep costs: • Childcare chaos. Parents planned around a schedule you just changed - during a childcare crisis.

  • Healthcare gaps. Workers managing health conditions now can't access care without burning additional sick leave just to cover the commute.
  • Trust. The quiet kind that doesn't announce when it leaves.

People aren't asking for special treatment. They're asking to plan their lives around rules that don't keep shifting. And organizations can have both a highly productive workforce and maintain trust among employees.

Hybrid can work. But only if the games stop.