Return to Office and National Security
Intro
Companies in America continue to push for a return to the office at high rates. There has been much speculation on the reasoning behind this—ranging from boosting worker productivity, to forcing resignations, to uplifting the retail office real estate market. The truth, as usual, is likely a combination of many different factors. But what if one of the main drivers is the health and security of the nation?
A Hypothesis
Let's cut straight to it: I believe RTO is crucial to the health and, ultimately, the security of the nation. I also believe that the U.S. government understands this and is nudging the private sector toward RTO through soft influence. I will be transparent here and state that I have absolutely no concrete proof of this, and at this point, it is pure speculation.
It’s no secret that American society has a social disconnection problem. Americans are more lonely and isolated than ever before.[1] This certainly does not occur without consequences, and I believe the division—both political and social—driven by isolation is a threat to national security. High rates of isolation combined with online echo chambers push the population toward the extreme ends of the political spectrum.
There is a decent amount of research supporting the idea that isolation and loneliness breed political extremism.[2] With more and more "third places" disintegrating, the workplace is often the last bit of socialization for much of the population. What industries have the highest number of remote workers? Tech, finance, and insurance, to name a few. These are some of the highest-paying industries in America. That’s a massive chunk of the mid-to-upper professional class set up for isolation via remote work—a class that has a ton of social and economic influence on the country. America cannot let this class fall into isolation—for the good of the country.
Conclusion
I love working remotely, and I was pulled back into the office kicking and screaming. However, I cannot ignore the growing problem of personal isolation in America. If psychologists, political scientists, and randoms like myself are observing this self-isolation problem, then I’d like to think there are governmental groups taking action. In the end, the executive class in America is quite small, so it would not be difficult to push this agenda to them. It only takes a few key American companies to start workplace trends.
[1] https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/working-papers/2022/wp22-11.pdf
[2] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/daily-news-lessons/2025/02/is-political-extremism-partly-caused-by-loneliness