Do all the CEOs who have been ordering their employees to return to their offices really think it will benefit their organizations? In what way? Will it create a talent advantage for them by increasing worker satisfaction and reducing attrition? How about productivity; do they expect that to improve? Or is the real motivation more personal? Are they really nervous about their ability to lead, inspire, motivate, and coach across distributed teams?

Some leaders probably have issued blanket office-return mandates simply because they can, or think they can—especially in the tech community, where RIFs have been cascading for months now. [For younger readers who have never lived through tough times, RIF is an acronym for a large layoff, or a “reduction in force.”]

However, the back-to-the-office lemmings are reading things wrong and their push will backfire. We’re already seeing this, with employees at some companies pushing back. More are likely to follow. Here’s why: