I’ve never seen this many people leaving at once. This isn’t normal turnover. This is a mass exodus, and everyone knows exactly why.
You forced a five-day RTO that nobody wanted, layered on tracking that feels like a maximum-security system, and created an environment built on fear instead of trust. People held out hope it would get rolled back to something reasonable. The notorious 8/1 email ki-led that overnight.
Since then, it’s been a steady stream of exits with a significant ramp in 2026. And it’s not random. The people leaving are the ones with options. The ones who actually drove results. The ones you can’t replace.
Who replaces them? Not “top talent.” It’s the bottom quartile of talent, whoever is willing to accept a five-day, heavily monitored, in-office model in 2026. That’s a much smaller and much weaker pool. That’s just reality. It’s the most desperate undesirable people with no other options. Nobody is choosing this model if they have a better option.
So what you’re left with is predictable. High performers check out or leave. Everyone else learns the game. Swipe in, sit down, do the minimum, go home. Because that’s what you’re measuring now. Presence, not performance.
This is a direct result of the decisions being made in the c suite. And it’s hollowing the place out in real time. Congratulations stink, you’re going to be the chairman of nothing. Your legacy is tarnished and getting worse by the day. Tick tock, time is running out.