A new study should serve as a cautionary tale, with some 80% of executives regretting how they handled their return-to-office (RTO) transition.

Companies large and small have been pushing their employees to return to the office, often in the face of stiff opposition. Studies have already shown that many employees work harder and more efficiently from home, and many employees have enjoyed the freedom working from home provides.

According to research by Envoy, some 80% of executives wish they had handled the return-to-office differently.

80% of executives say they would have approached their company’s return-to-office strategy differently if they had access to workplace data to inform their decision-making.

“Many companies are realizing they could have been a lot more measured in their approach, rather than making big, bold, very controversial decisions based on executives’ opinions rather than employee data,” Larry Gadea, Envoy’s CEO and founder, told CNBC Make It.

To make matters worse, some organizations have ultimately hurt their standing with their employees by pushing too hard, only to then have to back down in the face of backlash.

“Many organizations that attempted to force a return to the office have had to retract or change their plans because of employee pushback, and now, they don’t look strong,” Kathy Kacher, the president of Career/Life Alliance Services, told Make It. “A lot of executives have egg on their faces and they’re sad about that.”

Despite the preponderance of data showing how detrimental RTO mandates have been, some companies continue to blindly push forward. Amazon executive Mike Hopkins sparked backlash when he admitted he had no data to back up the company’s RTO push.

“I think it’s just time, it’s time to disagree and commit. We’re here, we’re back — it’s working,” he said. “I don’t have data to back it up, but I know it’s better.”

At some point, if companies want to keep their employees happy, the facts will have to prevail over old-school corporate culture.