Riot Games drops strict office rule, sees higher attendance and output

Riot Games, the Los Angeles-based developer of League of Legends, scrapped its mandatory three-days-a-week office schedule in January and adopted a flexible approach that lets each team set its own in-person days, typically about three per month. President Hoby Darling explained that the previous rigid cadence failed to accommodate diverse team workflows and did not foster high-impact collaboration. After more than half a year, the company reports that both attendance and productivity have climbed, with employees using the office more intentionally.

The shift occurs as many other employers double down on strict return-to-office mandates, surveillance, and superficial incentives like free donuts. Real-estate experts such as Paul Morgan of JLL and Steve Quick of ISS S/A argue that genuine flexibility, rather than gimmicks, is key to attracting talent in traffic-heavy markets like Los Angeles.