The return-to-office push is gaining steam, with Amazon and other big name companies demanding workers come back to the office. But not everyone’s playing along, and smaller companies are still betting on remote work to stay competitive. The reality? We’re headed for a middle ground between hybrid and in-office.
— CEOs Are Pushing Hard: Companies like Amazon and Salesforce are banking on in-office work for better collaboration and control. They believe the office is even more important now, than it was five years ago.
— Employees Are Pushing Back: Seasoned pros with families value flexibility, and many are ready to walk if they don’t get it — at least for now.
— Hybrid Is Here to Stay: Smaller businesses are sticking with remote work to cut costs and retain talent.
This tug-of-war won’t settle anytime soon, but one thing’s clear — hybrid work isn’t going away. If you need help figuring out what this means for your business, give me a call. I’m fortunate to observe on a daily basis what strategies various industries are executing.
The death of hybrid work? CEOs are clamping down, but the future may be more complicated
The return-to-office push is ramping up, but not without some friction.
Getty Images (RamCreativ)
By Andy Medici – Senior Reporter, The Playbook, The Business Journals
Oct 8, 2024
Updated Oct 8, 2024 3:04am EDT
Return-to-office requirements are once again clashing with employees who want continued remote or hybrid work — but experts say the future is a lot more complex.
Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy publicly called workers back to the office five days a week, now more convinced of the benefits of in-person work than ever. Remote work was an exception before the pandemic, not a rule, and he wants to return to that framework.
A survey by employee networking website Blind of more than 2,500 verified Amazon workers illustrated the uphill battle faced when it comes to a full-scale return to the office. The survey, conducted the day after the announcement, found 91% of employees were dissatisfied with the announcement and 73% said they would consider another job due to the change.
But this isn’t the first time companies have pushed a return to the office, and it’s not the first time employees pushed back. Amazon has made previous return-focused announcements since the pandemic only to eventually compromise.
And, as we’ve reported, Amazon isn’t alone and companies have considerably more leverage on remote work than they did in 2021 or 2022 — although it’s worth noting some employees themselves are shifting their stance on remote work.
Over the summer, California Governor Gavin Newsom called workers back to the office — with most workers ultimately coming back to the office at least two days a week even as enforcement remains lax. Walmart also pushed stricter office mandates over the summer as it builds a new campus for workers, alongside new mandates from computer maker Dell, Salesforce, AT&T, UPS and Bank of America.
Overall, remote work has receded from its pandemic peak but has remained well above pre-pandemic levels, achieving a wobbly plateau despite increased pressure from larger companies and growing return-to-office rates.
A divide also remains between corporate heavyweights and smaller counterparts, many of which see workplace flexibility as a way to level the playing field.
“This shift might influence some companies, but it’s unlikely to drastically change the overall landscape,” said Pavel Shynkarenko, founder of HR platform Mellow. “Big tech firms are bringing people back to the office, but many smaller companies see the benefits of remote work.”
Data from payroll and benefits provider Gusto Inc. found that, while big companies may be pulling back on remote work, smaller companies looking for savings on real estate and more able to manage small numbers of employees are embracing remote work.
Shynkarenko stressed high-level managers and highly-skilled workers are the ones most likely to leave due to return requirements, especially experienced workers with families who benefit the most from remote work and value flexibility.
“We won’t know the full impact until mid 2025 when these changes are fully implemented,” he said of Amazon’s changes.
But the constant drumbeat of return-to-office mandates has impacted millions of workers, according to a study by on-demand space firm Gable along with economists Nicholas Bloom, Jose Mario Barrero, Steven J. Davis, and Liza M. Levin.
More than half of workers surveyed said their company has announced at least one round of return-to-office mandates since 2020 — at about 57%. But 38% had announced more than one round and 6% said their company had been through five or more rounds of return-to-office mandates and policy changes.
Mixed signals on return trends
While some recent statistics point to milestones for office returns and dramatically shifting CEO sentiments, others show small gains for remote work.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that, in August, about 11.1% of workers were full-time remote workers, up from 10.3% in August 2023. Those remote working part time rose from 9.2% to 11.7%. Overall, the share of the who did not work remotely at all dropped from 80.5% to 77.2%.
Data from the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes found that remote work and hybrid work as roughly stabilized at about 30% of the work week., a number that has largely held steady since 2023. Data from survey firm Gallup shows about 53% of workers who are able to work in a hybrid setting do so — a share that has remained remarkably consistent over the past year.
Overall, about 62% of workers are full-time in the office in 2024, down 6% from 66% in 2023, according to a new analysis by videoconferencing firm Owl Labs. The share of fully remote workers rose from 7% to 11%.
“Despite the misconception that most employees are now back in the office full-time, the reality is that hybrid and remote work continues to grow and they’re taking back share from fully in-office work,” said Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs.
Meanwhile, data from security firm Kastle Systems shows that weekly occupancy among the 10 largest cities has ticked up in recent weeks as the summer ended, with average occupancy about 52%.
CEOS want workers back in the office, or not at all
Most business leaders would rather have workers in the office and believe it helps their profit margins — at least according to a new survey from flexible space provider WeWork. Overall, 83% of business leaders it surveyed said the office is more important than it was five years ago and 86% believe it will be more important now.
The majority of CEOs also believe full in-office companies see positive impacts on recruiting, retention and culture, according to the WeWork survey. And 76% of office-based companies are planning to increase their amount of space in the next two years, the survey showed.
A separate survey from ResumeTemplates.com found that 26% of companies have already expanded their return-to-office requirements in 2024, with another 12% planning to do so by the end of the year and another 9% in 2025. Of those that have increased or plan to increase their days in the office, about 34% are choosing five days a week.
Why? The biggest reasons are for collaboration and improving employee oversight. However, about 8% said the mandate is partly to force workers to quit in order to prevent layoffs.
Those results were similar to findings by human-resources firm BambooHR. The company found in a survey that 18% of HR professionals surveyed were hoping for voluntary turnover during their return-to-work push.
