APA Citation
Ding, Y., & Ma, M. (2023). Return-to-Office Mandates. *SSRN Working Paper*. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4675401
Summary
Researchers Ding and Ma studied return-to-office (RTO) mandates across 137 S&P 500 companies, finding that these mandates produced no improvement in financial performance while causing significant drops in employee satisfaction. Critically, they found that CEOs with greater power-seeking tendencies were more likely to impose RTO mandates—suggesting these decisions often reflect narcissistic control needs rather than business necessity.
Why This Matters for Survivors
This research demonstrates how narcissistic leadership operates in contemporary corporate settings. Return-to-office mandates that harm employees while providing no business benefit exemplify narcissistic leaders prioritizing control over outcomes. If your workplace imposed unnecessary RTO requirements, this research validates that such decisions often serve executive ego rather than organizational need.
What This Research Establishes
RTO mandates don’t improve performance. Across 137 S&P 500 companies, return-to-office mandates produced no improvement in stock returns or profitability.
Employee satisfaction drops significantly. 99% of companies with RTO mandates saw declines in employee satisfaction. Workers bore costs without organizational benefit.
Power-seeking CEOs more likely to mandate RTO. CEOs with greater power-seeking tendencies were more likely to impose return-to-office requirements—suggesting control motivations.
Control over outcomes. These mandates exemplify prioritizing executive control needs over both employee wellbeing and actual business results.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Recognizing corporate narcissism. If your workplace imposed RTO mandates that seemed more about control than business need, this research validates your perception. Such decisions often reflect narcissistic leadership.
Control for its own sake. Narcissistic leaders need people under their gaze, compliant, visible. RTO mandates achieve this regardless of (or despite) business outcomes. It’s about power, not productivity.
Your frustration is justified. If you experienced RTO mandates as unnecessarily controlling—harming your life without benefiting the organization—the research supports your assessment.
Patterns across scales. The same dynamics that operate in narcissistic families operate in narcissistic organizations: control prioritized over wellbeing, decisions serving the narcissist’s needs rather than stated justifications.
Clinical Implications
Assess workplace as source of stress. Patients dealing with unreasonable workplace policies may be experiencing organizational narcissism. Validate this as a legitimate source of distress.
Recognize patterns. The same control-over-outcomes pattern that appears in narcissistic relationships can appear in workplaces. Help patients recognize this.
Support autonomy. Help patients find ways to maintain autonomy within constraining workplaces or consider whether leaving is appropriate.
Don’t blame the employee. When patients struggle with unreasonable workplace policies, recognize the policy may be the problem—not the employee’s adjustment.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
Ding and Ma’s research appears in chapters on organizational narcissism:
“Return-to-office mandates provide a contemporary example of corporate narcissism. Ding and Ma’s study of 137 S&P 500 companies found that RTO mandates produced no financial improvement while causing employee satisfaction to drop in 99% of cases. Critically, CEOs with greater power-seeking tendencies were more likely to impose these mandates. This is narcissistic leadership in action: prioritizing control—having employees visible, compliant, under the executive gaze—over both employee wellbeing and actual business outcomes. If your workplace imposed RTO requirements that seemed more about control than business need, the research validates your perception. It wasn’t about productivity; it was about power.”
Historical Context
This 2023 working paper addressed the post-pandemic debate about remote work, providing empirical evidence that RTO mandates often serve power dynamics rather than business necessity. It contributed to growing research on how executive personality affects organizational policy.
Further Reading
- Boddy, C.R. (2011). Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(3), 367-379.
- Maccoby, M. (2000). Narcissistic leaders: The incredible pros, the inevitable cons. Harvard Business Review, 78(1), 68-77.
- Babiak, P., & Hare, R.D. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. Regan Books.
About the Author
Mark Ma, PhD is Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. His research examines corporate governance, executive decision-making, and workplace policies.
Historical Context
Published in 2023 as a working paper, this study addressed the post-pandemic debate about remote work. It contributed empirical evidence that RTO mandates often serve power and control rather than business outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
RTO mandates produced no improvement in financial performance (stock returns or profitability) while causing employee satisfaction drops in 99% of companies studied. The mandates didn't achieve their stated business justifications.
The study found CEOs with greater power-seeking tendencies were more likely to mandate RTO. This suggests control and dominance, not business performance, drives these decisions.
Narcissistic leaders prioritize control, dominance, and having people under their gaze over actual outcomes. RTO mandates that harm employees while providing no benefit exemplify this pattern—control for its own sake.
Yes. Employee satisfaction dropped significantly in companies with RTO mandates. Workers experienced loss of autonomy, increased commuting burden, and reduction in work-life flexibility.
No. The study found no improvement in stock returns or profitability from RTO mandates. The claimed business benefits didn't materialize; only employee costs did.
If you work for a company with unnecessary RTO mandates, this research validates that such decisions often serve executive ego rather than business need. Your frustration is justified.
Not necessarily. Some roles genuinely require in-person presence. The study specifically examined mandates that showed power-seeking CEO characteristics—control-driven rather than necessity-driven decisions.
Look for policies that: harm employees while providing no measurable benefit, prioritize executive preferences over employee wellbeing, and serve control rather than outcomes. RTO mandates often fit this pattern.