Remember 2020, when “staying home” was applauded? That’s not the case in a post-Covid world, with some employers sticking with the remote and hybrid work arrangements that grew out of the pandemic, and others pushing for more onsite employees.
A quick perusal of the headlines may lead you to believe the pendulum is swinging back toward onsite work. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy instructed corporate employees to work from the office five days a week by January, a change from the previous requirement of three days a week.
Ford recently announced that most office employees will be required to work from the office at least three days a week. General Motors announced in December 2023 that it would require salaried workers to be in the office three days per week starting in January 2024.
Disney, JPMorgan, Starbucks, X and Zoom have announced similar return-to-work policies, citing more productivity, collaboration and creativity when employees are in the office.
But what’s really going on in the workplace landscape? Were remote and hybrid work arrangements simply a Covid-induced experiment that will fade away, or are they sticking around?
Prevalence of remote and hybrid work
There’s no doubt that more employees are working from home these days — not to the degree we saw in 2020, but certainly more than pre-pandemic days.
Gartner’s Return-to-Office and Hybrid Work Trends and Benchmarks for the second quarter of 2024, a survey of around 18,000 employees around the world, has most employees working remotely sometimes, with a combined 56% saying they work at home less than once per week, one day per week or two to four days per week. Only 15% said they work remotely five days per week, and 29% said they never work remotely.
That tracks with a Gartner 2024 survey of human resources leaders, which asked what types of flexible work arrangements they offer. It found that 88% offer hybrid work, 70% offer remote work, and 57% offer staggered work shifts and flexible start and end times.
In the Gartner Global Labor Market Survey for the second quarter of 2024, employees in the financial services and insurance industry reported the highest percentage of hybrid work arrangements (64.3%), with technology and telecom a close second (62%) and professional services at 52.9%.
Media industry employees reported the highest fully remote work at 29.9% (48.2% reported hybrid work arrangements), with technology and telecom, and professional services each at 20.9%.
Of course, statistics can be malleable, and it always depends on who you ask, so here’s another perspective. Owl Labs surveyed 2,000 full-time workers in the United States, ages 18 and older and at companies with two or more employees. The company’s State of Hybrid Work 2024 found that 27% of workers are in a hybrid work arrangement, up from 26% in 2024, and 11% work fully remotely, up from 7% in 2023.
“Three remains the most popular number of days in-office for hybrid workers, with 41% of hybrid workers saying that’s how often they go,” the report stated.
While headlines may contribute to the idea that all companies are reining in remote and hybrid work arrangements, it’s possible that those companies making sweeping changes are simply the ones getting the most media coverage. Elizabeth Williams, principal for HR solutions at Rehman, said that her clients have either accepted hybrid work arrangements or they haven’t, and they aren’t planning on changing their policies.
Gartner’s research supports that idea, with an April 2024 Gartner benchmarking survey of employers finding that 64% of organizations are not planning to change policies on where employees work in the next 12 months.
The work-from-home conflict
While remote and hybrid work have pros and cons for both employers and employees, it’s generally true that employees want the flexibility to work from home, while employers resist it.
Leslie Delgado, president of Strategic Recruiting Services in New Hudson, Mich., summed it up: “Candidates maintain a preference for remote and hybrid work models, and employers prefer the in-house work model,” she said. “Currently, the trend is toward a more balanced and structured hybrid approach that combines the benefits of remote flexibility with in-person collaboration when necessary.”
Jim Link, chief human resources officer for SHRM, agreed.
“SHRM research shows most company leaders would prefer to have everybody back in the office, but the reality is, it’s not happening to the degree employers would like,” he said. “They have a tough time answering the question of whether we are better when we’re all in the same place for five days a week.”
Before we explore recommendations for organizations working to succeed in this post-pandemic environment of flexible work arrangements, let’s examine the benefits and drawbacks of remote and hybrid work for both workers and employers.
For employees, flexibility is the main attraction of working from home. In a second-quarter 2024 Gartner candidate survey, nearly half of respondents said they’re likely to choose a job with greater flexibility over where they work over 10% higher pay.
Some want to work from home on days when its beneficial (for example, when they need to be there for children or family members). Some dread the commute, feel more productive at home or enjoy being able to live in different geographic areas. Others have medical conditions or other reasons for wanting to work from home.
Working from home also reduces costs for employees. According to a March 2024 Gartner report, the average worker spends $77 per day when they go into the office or worksite. Including costs for lunch, the commute, care for pets or loved ones, the average employee spends more than $3,500 annually just to go to the office one day a week.
“Employees report that they feel more comfortable, relaxed and capable working remotely, as well as better able to express their authentic selves,” said Caitlin Duffy, senior director of research in the Gartner HR practice. Remote/hybrid work can also benefit employees’ well-being, as it makes activities such as exercise and proactive rest easier to fit into their daily schedules.
At the same time, employers benefit from a larger pool of workers when offering remote and hybrid work arrangements. Rachel Sederberg, Lightcast senior economist and director of research, noted that employers get a more diversified talent pool with remote workers. “Those who, for whatever reason, were not comfortable working in an office, have found ways to be productive and contribute,” she said.
“We definitely see an increase in applicants for virtual or hybrid roles, up to 35 times applicants for an in-person position,” said Delgado. “Of course, at least half of these apply from other parts of the country which may or may not be advantageous for the hiring company. So yes, depending on your company’s ability to hire out of state, the selection pool will have a lot more swimmers.”
A less obvious benefit for companies is reduced costs for office space and supplies. Williams noted that companies can sublease unused office space to offset costs.
What’s not to love
While working from home some or all the time may seem like a boon, especially to employees, it’s not all roses. First, it’s important to point out that not everyone wants to work from home. Williams noted that many younger workers want to work in-person, either because they got burned out with remote activities during Covid or because they value the mentoring and connections in-person work affords. Sederberg agreed, noting that middle-aged workers tend to prefer work-from-home arrangements.
Link pointed out the flip side of remote and hybrid work for employees. “Our research says roughly 25% of remote workers say their environment has become less collaborative, compared to 12% of onsite workers and 14% of those in hybrid roles. We also see remote employees are less likely to develop close friendships with colleagues, and the informal, spontaneous interactions occurring in physical offices are harder to replicate virtually. Remote employees, in particular, can feel isolated and disconnected, which can be even more pronounced in companies where they are in the minority.”
Many organizations are quick to point out the isolation of remote workers, along with perceived productivity dips and a lack of collaboration eroding company culture.
Duffy summed up organizations’ remote and hybrid work angst: “They worry that employees spending less time in offices, having fewer in-person interactions and interacting less often with colleagues outside of their immediate teams will compromise their connection to the organization’s culture. However, our research suggests that mandating returns to onsite work may backfire, as flexibility is a critical driver of culture connectedness; the more flexibility an employee has, the more likely they are to be connected to culture.”
The research Duffy points to is a 2023 Gartner report on how connected “knowledge workers” — those whose jobs can be performed remotely — feel to their organization’s culture, with culture connectedness defined as employees identifying with the company’s culture, caring about it and belonging within it. The report stated that culture connectedness increases employee performance by 37% and retention by 36% and that one in four hybrid or remote knowledge workers are connected to their organizational culture.
The report correlated flexibility with culture connectedness, reporting that more than half of knowledge workers with flexibility in location, scheduling, work volume, teams and projects were connected to the culture.
Advice for organizations
With warnings about isolation, “Zoom fatigue” and fewer opportunities for collaboration in the remote and hybrid work world, combined with employees demanding more flexibility, what’s an employer to do? The answer lies in “intentional practices,” according to the 2023 Gartner report entitled “Culture in a Hybrid World.” In other words, workplace culture doesn’t improve simply by bringing employees onsite; it happens strategically.
Key recommendations from the report include a shift toward “diffusing culture through work” instead of through being in the office. This means that organizations should focus on the work employees do, wherever they’re working, and how that work benefits the organization.
Second, the report stated that organizations should “connect through emotional proximity,” meaning that, regardless of physical proximity, employees feel seen and valued.
Finally, the report advocated optimizing a “micro-based experience,” meaning leaders should empower their teams to define and shape their own diverse cultures, since remote employees interact with fewer people on a regular basis than they would in an onsite setting.
Return-to-work recommendations
What about organizations that decide a full or partial return-to-work order is necessary? A September 2024 Gartner report entitled “Driving RTO Success: Compliance and Talent Outcomes” listed three recommendations for improving compliance and outcomes with return-to-work policies. The first is to articulate compelling reasons for returning onsite.
“Unfortunately, only 41% of employees say that their organization provided a convincing reason for the need to work on-site when they communicated the new requirements,” the report stated. Without buy-in, companies risk losing employees to organizations with more flexibility or reducing engagement and performance. Conversely, when organizations can convince employees of the need to work onsite, they are two to three times more likely to comply with the requirements, the report noted.
Link agreed: “There needs to be a smooth transition, with leaders providing a reason for the change,” he said. “They need to give employees a say in how the change occurs, create connections between workers and help them solve logistical problems.”
Secondly, the Gartner report recommended being more intentional and mindful of how employees work when setting return-to-work policies. “Thirty-two percent of employees indicated that their organization’s RTO requirements showed a lack of understanding of how they do their work, making them five times more likely to leave,” the report noted.
The report recommended a “purpose-driven hybrid model” for best results. Setting requirements to work onsite for a specific number of days per week didn’t improve employees’ performance, engagement, intent to stay or other positive outcomes. Conversely, requirements to work onsite for specific regular activities or specific events did positively affect these outcomes.
“When designed around specific purposes, such as group brainstorming, special events, or performance conversations, RTO policies improve employees’ ability to work effectively,” the report said.
The third recommendation in the report is to create onsite work environments that foster positive emotions. That means creating effective office spaces for shared and individual work, as well as with equitable amenities like bathrooms, wellness areas, cafeterias and more. It also means facilitating organizational, department, team and cross-functional gatherings so employees can collaborate. Many times, depending on hybrid work arrangements, employees are in the office when others are not, which defeats the purpose of collaboration and connection, the report noted.
Delgado’s recommendation to companies is in line Gartner’s: “Stay aware of your employees’ needs and desires. The key to the success of work from home and in-person jobs is the trust between employer and employee. A healthy working relationship is a must for productivity and engagement to remain at the highest level.”
The future of remote and hybrid work
Most experts agree that remote and hybrid work is here to stay, even though it’s not as prevalent now as during the pandemic. “In the longer term, I would speculate that it could reach a kind of equilibrium such that most organizations, if they can do so, operate in a hybrid model of employees working onsite a couple of days per week, as it represents the intersection of what employers want and what employees want,” said Duffy.
