HR, the office and your own time

“Great news! Back in the office, five days a week!”

My company mandated return to office and my commute now eats two hours of my day for no clear benefit.

What's really going on

• RTO mandates are usually driven by things that have little to do with your output: office leases already paid for, managers who are uncomfortable not seeing people work, and a belief (weakly supported by research) that being in person drives collaboration and innovation.
• Commuting is a real cost nobody pays you for. Once you count fuel or fares and lost hours, estimates run to several thousand euros or dollars a year. That's effectively a pay cut, even though your salary didn't change.
• A Glassdoor-based study found no clear evidence that stricter office mandates improve financial performance. It's a policy choice, not a proven productivity fix, so "we need people in for the business" may not hold up to questions.

What to say

"Can I ask you about the office policy? I'm curious what it's mainly meant to solve. For me the commute is now costing about [X hours and Y money] a week, and my output hasn't changed with location. Could I do [number] days in the office instead, ideally the days the team's actually in?"

Change the words so they sound like you, but keep the tone.