Corporate chiefs extend mandatory office schedules, federal administrators tighten attendance rules, and every week memos promise a revival. Required in-office time from employer mandates climbed 13 percent between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025, from 2.49 to 2.82 days per week. Stanford economist Nick Bloom summarizes the pattern in six deflating words: “attendance is flat as a pancake.” Rules multiplied; compliance did not. Data expose a mismatch between what leaders decree and what professionals accept. Amazon funnels raw badge data to managers who must justify team compliance scores, while JPMorgan Chase now ties promotions to documented on-site days.