What’s Missing From RTO Memos to Employees: Management & Work

Analyzing trends in leadership, company culture and the art of career building.

Memo mantras

A new week has brought a new wave of return-to-office orders, this time from companies including Microsoft Corp. (three days a week in person), NBCUniversal (four days minimum) and Novo Nordisk A/S (five days a week).

While it’s hardly news that more big employers are shifting from strongly urging to outright requiring office attendance — after all, it’s almost exactly a year since Amazon.com Inc. kicked the trend into high gear by announcing everyone would be back in the office five days a week — it’s worth examining how executives’ messaging ...