Dropbox CEO Drew Houston has delivered a blistering critique of the rising trend among major corporations to force employees back into the office, describing such mandates as outdated and ineffective.
Speaking on Fortune’s “Leadership Next” podcast, Houston said remote work isn’t just a convenience—it represents a smarter way of working that better fits the digital age.
“We can be a lot less dumb than forcing people back into a car three days a week or whatever, to literally be back on the same Zoom meeting they would have been at home,” Houston said. “There’s a better way to do this.”
He likened return-to-office (RTO) mandates to the futile effort of dragging people back into shopping malls or movie theaters.
“Nothing wrong with the movie theater,” he added, “but it’s just a different world now.”
Dropbox is one of the few tech companies that has fully embraced remote work since the pandemic, implementing a “virtual-first” model in 2021. Under this policy, employees work from home nearly all year, with a handful of scheduled in-person events making up roughly 10% of the time. The company has continued with that approach even as others reverse course.
Houston said he believes the future of work lies in flexibility and trust. “You need a different social contract and to let go of control,” he said. “But if you trust people and treat them like adults, they’ll behave like adults. Trust over surveillance.”
Several U.S. corporations are tightening their grip on office attendance. Companies like Amazon, Dell, and Disney have all issued warnings to staff: return to the office or risk losing your job.
Amazon’s chief executive Andy Jassy said last year in a memo to staff: “We’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of Covid,” he said, adding that it would help staff be “better set up to invent, collaborate, and be connected enough to each other”.
Walt Disney Company also ordered employees to return to the office four days per week, with CEO Bob Iger arguing it is essential for collaboration and creativity.
Meta, while more flexible than others, has also resumed monitoring office attendance, telling staff in 2023 that failure to comply with hybrid schedules would be noted in performance reviews. Google has taken a similar approach, linking physical attendance to evaluations and promotions.
These rigid mandates have been met with growing resistance from employees, many of whom say they are more productive at home. A 2023 Stanford study found that remote workers were 13% more productive than their in-office peers. Another survey showed that nearly half of UK workers would refuse to return to full-time office work, with women and working parents being the least likely to comply.
Some workers are even willing to take a financial hit for flexibility. Multiple studies show that employees are prepared to give up between 10% and 15% of their salary in exchange for remote work privileges.
The Bigger Debate
While many executives claim that office work fosters innovation and accountability, Houston believes those are excuses rooted in outdated thinking.
“Forcing people back to the office is probably gonna be like trying to force people back into malls and movie theaters,” he said.
Houston argues that the question isn’t about whether people can work from home, but whether the benefits of doing so outweigh the perceived benefits of physical presence. And for Dropbox, that answer is clear.
Dropbox’s model has enabled the company to reduce real estate costs, widen its talent pool beyond geographic constraints, and increase employee satisfaction—all without losing productivity.
While the RTO debate rages on, Houston’s stance underscores a growing cultural divide in corporate America. On one side are traditionalists insisting on office-based work; on the other are leaders who see flexibility and trust as the foundations of a more efficient and humane workplace.
