Return-to-office mandates remain in the news, with more companies announcing requirements for employees to work onsite and flexible work models continuing to shift. Effective leaders consider multiple factors as they look to make remote, hybrid and in-person arrangements work in their organizations for the long run.
According to our recent Flexible Work Models Pulse Survey, more than two-thirds of companies worldwide have implemented a formal policy requiring employees to be in the office for a minimum number of days each week. However, news reports can be deceiving as less than 5% of organizations completely prohibit remote work. Most companies require employees to be onsite between one and four days per week, with three days being most prevalent (28% of companies). More than half of organizations report having no set rules to determine days onsite, with employees free to choose the days they work remotely.
While definitions of remote, hybrid and onsite work vary, leaders report that 31% of their employees are onsite 80% of the time, 19% are remote 80% of the time and 50% are hybrid (a mix of onsite and remote).
Contrary to many current perceptions, remote and hybrid working arrangements are not a product of the COVID era. According to WTW research, prior to the pandemic, about 350 million people worldwide worked remotely, representing approximately 10% of the global workforce. During the pandemic, the number surged to approximately half to two-thirds of the global workforce, depending on region.
The drive behind greater in-office presence is based on the belief that face-to-face interactions boost employee engagement within teams (76%), strengthen corporate culture (71%) and increase collective productivity by promoting personal interaction of teams (63%). This contrasts the leading benefits of remote work, including promoting attraction and retention of specific roles that could not be filled without remote work options (82%), increased engagement by having better work/life balance (80%) and greater employee retention (68%).
Organizations appear to be taking a gradual approach to increased onsite presence, as most are not currently promoting bringing employees back into the office, and about a quarter are improving office facilities, such as dining facilities, gyms and physical therapy, to entice in-person interaction. These efforts acknowledge concern about an uptick in attrition if employees’ needs are not considered. For employees, flexible work allows for better time management and personal productivity as well as the reduced financial burdens of commuting and dependent care.
Even as more companies seek to return workers to offices, employees’ desire for remote work has increased. According to WTW’s Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, 53% of employees who have work that can be done remotely indicated they would look to change jobs within 12 months if their employer mandated a full-time return-to-office policy. Almost half of hybrid and remote workers reported a willingness to take a pay cut (of 8%, on average) to work flexibly. Other surveys, such as one from Gartner, report one in three executives would leave their employer if forced to return onsite.
Further, flexibility and choice do not pertain only to knowledge workers. WTW research showed that even during the height of the pandemic, approximately 35% of workers worldwide remained onsite. Most frequently, these were frontline employees who literally kept society moving and bristled at the term “back to work” as they never left work. Effective leaders seek opportunities to provide flexibility for these employees through flexible shift schedules, changes to the work environment and enhanced wellbeing programs.
Effective leaders take five actions as employees return to offices:
Effective leaders continue to balance employee preferences, productivity and business outcomes in a rapidly changing environment.
A version of this article originally appeared on Forbes on February 18, 2025.
