Not All Return-to-Office Mandates May Make Sense

According to articles from CBS and Sacramento Bee (8/12/25), “A new audit found that the State of California could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year by not enforcing return-to-office orders for state workers. The audit comes amid the saga for state workers and the political debate between remote versus in-person work. It found that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office “did not gather some important information about space needs and costs” before ordering employees back to the office four days a week, and that ending telework could cost the state $225 million a year.” Of course, there are a number of critics who dispute this audit for a variety of reasons… “Public employees and their labor representatives have argued that remote work offers workers more flexibility, helps them and the state save money and curbs unnecessary carbon emissions from reduced commutes.” Does anyone out there have real-life documented evidence one way or the other about RTO mandates?