Return to Office Is Not a Productivity Strategy: What Actually Makes Developers Effective in 2026

Fifty-four percent of Fortune 100 companies now require full-time office attendance, up from 5% in 2023. Yet 80% of those companies have already lost talent because of it. The RTO debate for developers has never been about location. It is about deep work, flow states, and whether your environment lets you think. Here is what the data says and what both companies and developers should do about it.