WTF? That’s “What’s the Future,” FYI (well, at least in this particular case), as we find ourselves in a reflective mood looking back on the acronym-driven year that was while focusing on what’s ahead for a few of those three-letter abbreviations we’ve all come to know so well: RTO and WFO.
The shorthand for Return to Office and Work from Home take center stage once again as we are about to open the door and step into 2025, as businesses continue to update and refine their policies while employees and job seekers assess their needs and priorities. All sides in all industries are searching for that blend of productivity and flexibility that works for their unique situation.
This final Five on Friday for the year takes a quick look at where employers and employees alike are trending in the ongoing debate, and where the trends and times are heading…
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Return to Office Is the Future…and the Future Is Now
The days of full-time work-from-home arrangements are dwindling, and the numbers appear to keep moving in the direction of more employees being directed to return to the workplace—at least part of the time. According to a recent Flexible Work Models Pulse Survey by WTW, the percentage of firms requiring 0 days per week in-office has decreased from 32% to 25%, while the number of companies requiring 3 days per week in office has increased from 19% to 28%.
“There’s pretty much no question that the number of companies requiring no days in the office will continue to decline,” says ECLARO co-founder Paul Sheridan. “We’re going to see these percentages continue to fluctuate as businesses continue to assess how they can maximize productivity while still being able to attract and retain top talent—these things go hand-in-hand.”
Hybrid Is the New Black
“We’ve all heard about the large, well-known companies, like Amazon and Dell, who began requiring certain portions of their workforce back in-office full-time this past fall,” says ECLARO Co-Founder Tom Sheridan. “The minimum number of days that employees will need to be in an office continues to fluctuate across the board, but instead of a full five days, we’re seeing that a hybrid model is where many companies are headed right now.”
In an analysis of some 9,000 U.S. companies, the Flex Index found that roughly three days per week in-office is the average that employers will be requiring in a flexible model. (The Flex Index also found that a third of U.S. employers are now requiring employees to be in the office five days a week, which is actually a drop of 16% from a year ago.)
There are still companies offering fully remote work, of course, but according to the Flex Index, the number of U.S. companies with such an arrangement has dropped from 33% a year ago to 25% today. According to the WTW survey, 61% of U.S. companies have a formal policy requiring a minimum number of in-office days per week, but that same survey reveals that “less than half (48%) of employers insist staff be on-site for two to three days a week and only 4% require staff to be on-site for four days a week.”
Corporate Culture, Communication, Productivity Are Key Drivers
“Whether it’s creating a more collaborative environment, improving communication, sparking more spontaneous creativity, being able to interact with mentors, building a stronger corporate culture, increasing productivity in certain areas and roles—we hear from many employers that having their teams together in the office at least part of the time offers benefits with real results,” Paul Sheridan says.
Indeed, many business leaders believe that more in-office days mean more a positive impact for the group as well as individuals. The WTW survey reveals “the drive behind greater in-office presence is the belief that face-to-face interactions boost employee engagement within teams (84%), strengthen corporate culture (71%) and increase collective productivity by promoting personal interaction of teams (64%).”
As with all things, there is another side to the equation (or, in some cases, an E-QUATION, as ECLARO Senior Recruiter Chris Viemeister has discussed in our blog “Are You Paying Enough to Attract A-Players to Your Team”). WTW notes that the above reasoning in some cases “contrasts the leading benefits of remote work, including promoting attraction and retention of specific roles that could not be filled without remote work options (84%), increased engagement by having better work life balance (78%), and greater employee retention (76%).”
Employees Working from Home Prefer to Stay Remote…And Might Pay to Do So
Before the pandemic, do you know how many employees worked remotely? Only 6%. Now, nearly five years later, that number has risen to some 80%. And many people don’t want to return to the routine of going to an office every day.
“The remote-office-hybrid question is one that many people are asking from the very beginning of their job search,” Tom Sheridan notes. “It’s a factor not only in people deciding what jobs they’re willing to apply to, but in whether they are going to stay in their current roles or start to look elsewhere in 2025.”
According to the WTW’s Global Benefit Attitudes Survey, “53% of employees who have work that can be done remotely would look to change jobs within 12 months if their employer mandated a full-time return-to-office policy.” In addition, 48% of hybrid and remote workers say they would be willing to take an average pay cut of 8% if it meant greater work flexibility.
There Is No Single Right or Wrong Answer
“Everyone defines what’s best for them in their own way,” Paul Sheridan adds. “Yes, there are candidates who will only consider fully remote situations, and we work to help find them the roles to suit their goals. But while that ‘only remote’ sentiment may remain strong with some people, we’re finding many others are seeking an in-person experience, whether it be hybrid or fully in-office. The same situation isn’t going to appeal to every candidate, but we recommend to every candidate that they truly weigh the benefits and drawbacks, as they see them, and recognize that the idea of a ‘workplace’ is still changing.”
“The same applies to business owners,” Tom Sheridan adds. “As we say in all our interactions with clients, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, so what is going to work for one company is not necessarily going to work for another when it comes to setting an RTO or WFO policy.
‘It’s essential that employers do an honest assessment of the benefits the business could derive from whatever model they choose, and then create a plan and clear policies that also set the employees—at every level—up for success. As Paul says, the way we all define ‘workplace’ and ‘productivity’ and other aspects of employment are evolving. The people who engage with that reality and evolve the fastest are going to excel in ways that will truly set them apart.”
