Like Elon Musk, 1 in 3 bosses admit they are pushing RTO because they’re so upset about wasting money on all those empty desks

Resume.org surveyed 900 business leaders for their report; around 600 of them are at companies that currently maintain office space, many of whom signed lengthy leases before the pandemic.

About half of that group has leases that don’t end until 2028 at the earliest. The silver lining? One in ten of those firms admitted that they plan to scrap the mandates entirely after their leases expire.

Roughly a quarter said they’ll be decreasing the amount of office space they rent when it’s time to renew.

We paid for the office space, we want to use it

In-office attendance, of course, doesn't actually make a long, expensive rental agreement less burdensome. Rather, it's just the idea of workers being at their desk—making use of the space—that is likely to quell bosses' concerns and provide the feeling of money well spent, or at least better spent.

There’s really just one economic factor to the RTO push vis-a-vis rental agreements, and it’s fairly minor, Brian Elliott, CEO of leadership advisory Work Forward, tells Fortune. “Sometimes [companies] have minimum commitments to vendors in the building.” Perhaps a coffee shop in the lobby or the fast-casual chain on the street level. But “that's clearly not the standard case,” Elliott said, and it’s only applicable if a business owns or leases a whole building.

With that in mind, the imperative for people in offices that are already being paid for is more emotional than practical.

The mere sight of rows of empty desks is a common reason for executives to push a return-to-office directive through, Elliott explained.

Esme Lewis

The Frog and the Mouse