Commuters walk through Grand Central Terminal in New York City (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) ... [+]
Has the hybrid work bubble burst? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans working from home has fallen dramatically since its pandemic highs. Today, fewer than 26% of U.S. households still have someone working remotely at least one day a week, which is a significant drop from the early 2021 peak of 37%.
It’s hardly surprising that fewer people are working from home now that normal activities from schooling to socializing have resumed in person. However, the data does suggest that the bright hybrid future many have been predicting might not materialize after all.
While some employers still offer hybrid working and will continue to, there’s a clear drive to get people back to the office or enforce stricter hybrid arrangements. In the past, an employer might have asked staff to come into the office two or three days a week, but now many have started increasing or specifying those in-office days to introduce more structure and regain control.
The Productivity Imperative
It all boils down to productivity, which businesses aren’t willing to compromise on in the current economic climate.
Despite studies showing that hybrid working has a flat or even positive impact on productivity, leaders still lack confidence that their hybrid teams are effective.
Therefore, unless organizations have a reliable way of monitoring productivity that allays their concerns, they aren’t prepared to take the risk. They’d rather see their employees physically present at their desks, which they perceive as a measure of efficiency.
Reconciling Business And People Needs
The challenge for employers involves reconciling this desire to return to the office with what employees want and expect.
Many people value working from home, with studies showing more than a third of remote workers would quit or immediately start looking for a new job if forced to give up their flexibility. As such, employers who ignore employee demands and preferences are putting their ability to attract and retain top talent at stake. However, it’s a gamble some larger employers, such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, seem prepared to take, believing that the right employees will stay with the business even with return-to-office mandates.
Besides, current market conditions give employers more leverage than they had during the Great Resignation when there was a shortfall of quality talent and employees could make demands. With more organizations laying off staff – and not only in the tech sector – employees may feel they have less bargaining power and are more likely to comply with the company’s working arrangements to keep their jobs.
A Shift In Attitude
Indeed, while hybrid roles are still a priority for some, candidates are increasingly open to office-only or mainly office roles compared to even six months ago.
Research supports this, finding that most workers would willingly head back to their desks for the right incentives. Given the added expense of working from the office – commuting costs, coffees and lunches soon add up – nearly two in five hybrid workers say they’d be more likely to go to their office voluntarily if their companies covered their commuting costs. Designated private spaces, relaxed dress codes, and free or subsidized meals would also help soften the blow of an office return. Again, these findings indicate a shift in attitude. Previously, people accepted significant pay cuts to retain their hybrid working rights. Many candidates wouldn’t even consider a role that didn’t come with flexible working. That’s starting to change, though, which will no doubt be music to business leaders’ ears, especially the 64% who believe – or perhaps hope – there will be a full return to in-office work by 2026.
Is a return to the office inevitable, then? It’s hard to imagine hybrid work disappearing altogether, and some employers will no doubt retain it to secure the best talent and gain a competitive edge. Those who do will be adept at measuring their productivity and managing a distributed workforce. However, employers that successfully coax employees back into the office in this latest wave of returns are unlikely to relinquish control and reverse their decision. Once the hybrid work genie is back in the bottle, it’s there to stay.
