The Corporate Denial About Where Work Actually Works

Let's stop dancing around the obvious:

Your empty office buildings aren't assets anymore - they're anchors the sunken cost of corporate offices). Your RTO mandates aren't about culture - they're about control (reducing the need for redundancies if people leave of their own accord).

Your hybrid policies aren't solutions, they're surrender notes.

And your "workplace culture" isn't working - anywhere.

The Brutal Reality Check

Here's what nobody's saying out loud:

• Your offices are empty because they were emotional deserts even when they were full

• Your "culture" isn't suffering because people work from home - it's suffering because it never existed in the first place

• Your productivity hasn't dropped because people are remote - it's dropped because they're exhausted from pretending to care

• Your "return to office" isn't about collaboration - it's about justifying real estate decisions made in a different era

And the most uncomfortable truth?

The problem isn't where people work. The problem is they don't feel at home anywhere in your organization.

"Stop asking where your employees should work. Start asking why they don't feel at home when they're working." - a Clarism

The Three-Act Corporate Tragedy

Act 1: The Real Estate Trap

Behind closed boardroom doors, the conversation isn't about collaboration or culture - it's about commercial real estate debt and empty buildings. Companies are desperately trying to justify billions in sunken costs, turning "return to office" into a financial survival strategy disguised as cultural necessity.

Act 2: The Control Illusion

Some leaders, uncomfortable with trust, equate visibility with productivity. They're trying to manage by eyeball in a digital age. Worse still, some are using RTO mandates as stealth layoff tools - let people quit rather than pay severance or redundancy payments.

Act 3: The Great Detachment

But here's the deeper truth Gallup has identified: we're experiencing "The Great Detachment." People aren't just disconnected from offices - they're disconnected from purpose.

The Real Revolution

The most revolutionary act in 2025 isn't about where we work - it's about how deeply human we dare to be while doing it.

Think about it:

• When your people are scattered across locations, they're not just working differently - they're seeing differently

• Every team member brings their unique perspective "into the site" of your business

• That's not just insight - that's true in-sight

The False Solutions

Watch how companies are responding:

• Better office perks (as if free snacks solve spiritual emptiness)

• Stricter attendance policies (because forced presence creates belonging?)

• Hybrid schedules (splitting the difference isn't the same as finding the answer)

They're treating symptoms while ignoring the disease.

The Real Question

The question isn't "How do we get people back to the office?" It's not even "How do we help people work from home?"

The real question is: "How do we create work that feels like home?"

Because home is:

• Where we can truly be ourselves

• Where decisions flow from trust, not control

• Where growth happens naturally

• Where purpose drives everything

• Where belonging isn't scheduled, it's lived

The Path Forward

I believe that the organizations that will thrive in 2025 understand:

• Culture isn't bound by walls - it's bound by purpose

• Leadership isn't about location - it's about liberation

• Innovation doesn't need a zip/postcode - it needs psychological safety

• Performance isn't about presence - it's about purpose

The New Reality

When work feels like home:

• People don't just exist - they excel and belong

• Leadership focuses on purpose, not position

• Decisions flow from clear frameworks, not control

• Culture becomes your true competitive advantage

• Location becomes irrelevant because belonging becomes universal

"You know you've created a sense of belonging when your team want to BE there for a LONG time." - a Clarism

The Revolution Is Here

The future isn't sorting organizations by their work-from-home policies. It's sorting them by their courage to create workplaces that feel like home.

The organizations winning this future aren't debating where people work. They're revolutionizing how deeply human they dare to be while doing it.

Because here's the truth about 2025: It's not waiting for your permission slip. The future of work isn't coming...it's already here.

The only question is:

Will your workplace feel like a prison to escape from, or a home to return to?

The revolution isn't about location.

It's about liberation.

And it's already beginning.

It's time to lead different.

Together we can...

#EvolveTheWorldOfWork

Dave Clare, CEO & Founder of Circle Leadership

www.circleleadershipglobal.com