RTO Plans Collide With Worker Tensions and a Virus Resurgence

After many false starts, corporate America is gearing up to bring more workers back to the office—only to once again have plans collide with rising virus cases and uncertainty about a new variant.

Wells Fargo & Co., American Express Co., Google, and Ford Motor Co. are among the companies that have indicated that much of their white-collar staff will doff their sweatpants and get back to their desks sometime in January. The new year had supplanted Labor Day as the return marker for many employers after the delta variant swept through the country during the late summer. ...