Employers are hiding a secret about strict return-to-office mandates—they’re probably bluffing about how many days they want you back

Major businesses from beauty retailer L’Oreal to banks like Deutsche and Goldman Sachs are beginning to reign in years of pandemic-era workplace flexibility, and based on the rhetoric, they appear to mean business this time.

But hidden within those ominous memos is a big secret, and the clue to unraveling it comes from a quick look at many companies’ post-pandemic office footprints.

CEOs’ secret

The secret is many companies simply no longer have the space they need to fit the number of workers they say they want back at the office

Businesses are probably being overly ambitious with their RTO orders with the expectation that the targets will never be met by staff, according to Sue Aspey Price, EMEA CEO for real estate services group Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

“Our experience is that companies, frankly, will say a day longer than what they expect because they just know about human behaviors and patterns, and travel and sick days and holidays,” Aspey Price told Fortune.

“So when we see a company say four days a week back in the office, usually they’re expecting around three, so that means they’re now going to be planning their portfolio, their footprint, and the type of space they need around that three day a week model.”

JLL manages thousands of clients’ real estate affairs. In the past few years, Aspey Price says trends of both downsizing and shifts to more sustainable office spaces have changed the workplace dynamic.

That story matches up with the data. A survey published last June by Knight Frank found half of the world’s biggest firms were planning to cut their office space by 10-20%. In 2024, Moody’s expects a “muted” corporate real estate market. 

More recently, companies in major hubs like London, New York, and Singapore are…