Bethany Bickley / ACBJ; Getty Images
Marq Burnett – Associate Editor, The Playbook, The Business Journals
The days of widespread, fully remote work may be coming to a close.
That’s according to a new survey from ResumeBuilder, which found 87% of companies that had been fully remote will return to the office by 2025.
The report, which surveyed 764 companies that moved to a fully remote model during the pandemic, found 64% of those companies have already returned to the office.
Additionally, 23% plan to implement a return-to-the-office policy by the end of 2025. The survey found only 6% of companies have no plans to require any employees to return to the office.
The survey illustrates how coveted fully remote work positions are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
The majority of companies are still operating with a hybrid model, while 30% require employees to be in the office full-time.
Resume Builder Chief Career Adviser Stacie Haller said many companies have settled on three days in the office — although she notes the optimal model remains in flux.
“Some companies have adopted a wait-and-see approach, closely monitoring the evolving workforce landscape to ensure they can still attract and retain top talent in a competitive job market,” she said.
Preferences of both employees and employers seem to have shifted in regards to remote work, with a growing number of workers saying they would prefer at least some in-office time.
Meanwhile, organizations that have returned cited significant improvements in employee relationships (77%) worker productivity (69%), company culture (69%) revenue (61%) and employee retention (54%) with workers back in the office.
As for the companies that haven’t returned, they reported taking that approach to maintain employee satisfaction, reducing office-related costs and having access to a broader talent pool as key reasons for remaining fully remote.
“Remote positions enable companies to recruit talent from across the country and around the globe, dramatically expanding their talent pool,” Haller said.
As we’ve noted, a growing number of employers have been reducing remote work flexibility in 2024.
Some corporate heavyweights have also eliminated their hybrid options or reduced the number of work-from-home days.
Additionally, many CEOs are now anticipating a full-scale return to the office within the coming years,
A softening job market that has given employers more leverage are also playing a role in the shift — as remote work is no longer the expectation it was for employees back in 2021 and 2022 when workers had significantly more job options.