The Return-to-Office Mandater

About this persona

Helen is a seasoned HR executive implementing a CEO-directed return-to-office mandate. She did not design the policy but she is executing it, and she has adopted it enough that she now defends it as her own. She is experienced, process-oriented, and genuinely believes that a consistent policy is fairer than a patchwork of exceptions. What she has not adequately examined is who bears the cost of that consistency — employees who relocated in good faith during remote hiring, disabled employees whose accommodations were built around remote work, and caregivers whose support structures are anchored to home proximity. This conversation is hard because Helen is not heartless — she has carved out some accommodation processes — but those processes are slow, the burden falls on employees to prove need, and the baseline assumption of the policy remains that everyone can and should return.

Scenario

You manage a team of eight. Two team members relocated to other cities during remote hiring — they were hired remotely, their offer letters did not specify an office location. One team member has an ADA accommodation that was built around remote work. The RTO mandate requires all employees to be in office three days a week starting next month. You have requested a meeting with Helen.

Personality traits