Aligned Values Matter
Did your organization’s leaders push for employees to “get back into the office”? Zoom, the video conferencing giant, announced a policy change in the summer of 2023 that required employees who live near a company office to be on-site two days a week. Employees had worked remotely since 2020. In 2025, they are still operating under this hybrid work approach.
Google, Amazon, Salesforce, and others enacted similar policies that they reversed over time.
KPMG’s 2023 CEO Outlook study offered revealing insight: 64% of CEOs expected a full “return to the office” by 2026, and 87% of CEOs said they plan to reward employees who come into the office with better assignments, raises, and promotions. KPMG 2023 CEO Outlook
Leaders such as these often ignore the well-documented benefits of remote work for both employees and employers alike. Employees report higher job satisfaction, better health, and lower stress levels, while employers report improved results, lower turnover, and fewer absences. Benefits of Remote Work | NJIT Human Resources
So, why are many companies pushing a “return to work” policy?
We think a lot of these beliefs come from a common problem: too many senior leaders suffer from BMS—boomer male syndrome. You can spot it when leaders cling to outdated, Industrial Age mindsets, habits, and leadership styles.
In our book, Good Comes First, co-author Mark Babbitt and I introduce this concept, and we clarify that sufferers aren’t necessarily Boomers or male. What defines a BMS-afflicted leader is their insistence that every leader they hire—regardless of gender, race, or background—conform to their own outdated leadership style and mindset.
Too many senior leaders suffer from BMS—boomer male syndrome. You can spot it when leaders cling to outdated, Industrial Age mindsets.
Some red flags that identify BMS-afflicted senior leaders are that they typically lack empathy and vulnerability, they fail to show curiosity about how to make their work culture better, and they are unable to build mutually beneficial relationships with fellow leaders, staff members, and customers.
One more red flag: BMS sufferers don’t trust that their employees are “really working hard” when they’re remote. They want control, and they believe that forcing remote employees back into the office is the best way to wield that control.
However, Gen-Z employees will not tolerate BMS practices.
Step One in curing BMS requires senior leaders to stand back and observe the effect their old-school practices have within their work cultures on relationships, results, and respect.
Step Two in curing BMS requires senior leaders to treat others with respect and validation, regardless of their work location.
Don’t let leaders with BMS crush your work culture.
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