Biden has urged his Cabinet to “aggressively execute” their own efforts to get federal workers to report back to their respective offices this fall, Axios reports citing an email sent to every Cabinet member early last month that the publication obtained.

Biden’s own push to have federal employees shift away from remote working and return to pre-COVID-19 workplace norms could resonate loudly with both public- and private-sector employers and have wider economic ramifications. The District of Columbia’s top executive, Mayor Muriel Bowser, made a strong appeal during her inaugural address in January. “We need decisive action by the White House to either get most federal workers back to the office most of the time or to realign their vast property holdings for use by the local government, by non-profits, by businesses and by any user willing to revitalize it,” Bowser said.

For Bowser, having more federal employees working out of their offices in downtown DC is vital to reviving that city’s economy and sustaining other businesses that count on those workers. Axios also reports that the Office of Management and Budget in April sent out a directive for agencies to devise plans to boost in-person work. “As we look towards the fall, and with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, your agencies will be implementing increases in the amount of in-person work for your team,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients wrote in an email last month to the Cabinet. “This is a priority of the President—and I am looking to each of you to aggressively execute this shift in September and October.”

For private sector employers, return-to-office efforts have been mixed. While 54% of companies are requiring or strongly encouraging their staff to work on-site, 28% of employees say such requirements have over the last six months reduced their desire to remain with their employer, The Conference Board recently reported.

Almost 80% of employees are still fully remote or working on a hybrid schedule, The Conference Board noted, citing its survey of nearly 1,300 U.S. employees (mostly office staff), conducted from April 25 to May 5.

“In a world that can often seem like its gone mad, we need to reimagine the workplace as an oasis for workers,” says Rebecca Ray, executive vice president, human capital, The Conference Board. “Businesses should not only be thoughtful about why they’re asking people to come back to the office but make it a place where people can come to do their best work, can learn and grow, and can have a meaningful impact.”

A survey of 1,500 HR professions, conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management in June, offers some positive news for employers urging their staff to come back. “The good news for companies implementing return-to-office policies is that while employees may say they don't want to go back, most report that the return has been a positive experience,” SHRM reports. “Seventy-one percent of workers who came back to the office say they are more satisfied with their jobs, according to the SHRM research, and about three-quarters say they are more effective and productive.”

Facebook parent, Meta, has stepped up the pressure on its employees, which include those working with Instagram and WhatsApp, Computerworld reports. Lori Goler, Meta’s head of people, is now informing staff that should they fail to abide by the minimum attendance requirement, they could be fired. In early June, Meta said it would ask employees who were not designated as remote staff to report to the office three days a week beginning early this month.

“As we shared in June, beginning September 5, people assigned to an office need to spend at least 3 days per week working in person to foster healthy relationships and strong collaboration,” Goler wrote in an internal post last month.

Zoom in August announced that staff who live close to an office, within 50 miles, will be required to come in at least two times a week, noting that it believes “that a structured hybrid approach” is the most effective work arrangement, The Washington Post reported.

Goldman Sachs has adopted a harder stance in demanding workers report to the office when it ended its Summer Friday’s program last month and following its reported profit loss of 58% in the second quarter, Entrepreneur reports. The firm required its staff to report to the office five days a week, Entrepreneur notes citing multiple news outlets.