Will 2025 be the watershed year for return-to-office mandates? That depends.

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Chipotle Mexican Grill has settled on a remote-work policy. But that could change.

The burrito chain requires staffers to be in four days a week, Monday through Thursday, a policy the company announced in May of last year. The mostly in-office policy helps preserve the company’s culture and has worked well for Chipotle, said Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer, who is often at his desk five days a week. But the company’s end-of-the-week flexibility could vanish if productivity slips, according to Rymer.

“Our execution on Friday is on point, people are available," he said. “If that ever comes into question, I can see us switching back quickly." Chipotle’s decision to hold at four days in the office comes as large companies are cracking down on back-to-office policies, which will be in the spotlight again for C-suite leaders in the year ahead. AT&T, Amazon.com and Dell Technologies in recent months have called certain staffers back to offices five days a week.

Starbucks in October warned employees they risk termination if they don’t comply with the company’s existing three-days-a-week mandate. And with President-elect Donald Trump set to return to the White House in the coming year, federal workers too could soon see a push to return to the office under the new Department of Government Efficiency advisory group, the latest sign of leaders wrangling with RTO mandates. Years after the Covid-19 pandemic normalized remote work, the recent developments have executives wondering which companies will pull staff back to the office next—and who will benefit.