Return-to-office mandates are associated with an exodus of high performers, research finds

Vivek Ramaswamy walking next to Elon Musk, who is carrying a child on his shoulders.

• DOGE has proposed eliminating remote work for federal employees. But new data from University of Pittsburgh business administration professor Mark Ma suggests RTO policies tend to push out the most talented employees—and they are harder to replace than entry-level workers.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s dream of eliminating work-from-home options for 94% of federal employees—in hopes of encouraging workers to quit, thus shaving trillions from the federal budget—may backfire, new research from the University of Pittsburgh suggests.