Current State of Remote Work 2023: The Evolution of the Work from Home Model

“As of 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% work a hybrid model” …. It’s also estimates that, “by 2025, 32.6 million Americans will work remotely.” (Forbes). I think it’s safe to say that the pandemic changed the workforce as we know it but what do management teams think and where is it headed? Certain CEO’s like Bob Iger are announcing that employees are expected to return into office at least four days a week soon and Drum recently reported that companies who “put up with [remote work] for a long time are finally getting sick of it.” Although some report being more productive at home, the data that companies are getting is proving otherwise. Here are there reasonings:

1.     Remote work is hard for new hires: the onboarding experience seems to take hold better in person than virtual they say.

2.     People work less: everyone says that they work more but some data sets are showing otherwise. People tend to work 3.5 hours less per week when working from home. However, the remote workers argue that they have a better work-life balance and are more focused when at home. Quality of work is much higher.

3.     Productivity is very low on days when everyone works remotely: certain CEO’s believe that when their whole team is remote, they are less productive overall. While we can’t speak for an entire group of people, most are just the same if not more productive.

It seems that higher ups are trying to remove remote work from the equation but we think that their efforts won’t pan out. People say that if they aren’t offered the option of at least hybrid work they’ll find a job that will. If bosses want their employees back in the office full-time they’ll have to make a stronger argument. We just don’t think that the “data” they have is feasible enough to require full-time in office employment with all the remote work benefits. Not only is it mentally better for employees, it is better for our planet. We love our remote business structure at Locomotive and we won’t be changing it any time soon.

Hybrid Work & the Freedom of Choice

We recently did a poll on LinkedIn to see how many people would prefer to be back in the office. Did they feel more productive there or working from home? The results showed that out of the 21 people that voted, 90% said that they prefer to work from home and feel they get more done. This is a hot topic right now since a lot of businesses are demanding that employees come back into the office full-time. What’s interesting is that the pandemic shifted employee mindset vastly into what social scientists are calling “The Great Reshuffle.” Workers now have a new “worth it” equation and 53% of employees are more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing over work than they were before the pandemic (Work Trend Index Report 2022). What is also interesting to note is that most of Gen Z and Millennials that entered the work force during the pandemic right out of college haven’t even been inside of an office yet and it seems they prefer it that way. 58% are considering a shift to hybrid work in the year ahead and 56% are considering to shift to fully remote (Work Trend Index Report 2022). As expected, management everywhere is under pressure to make the choice to either A.) lose employees if they require full-time in person employment. Or, B.) offer hybrid work options to entice people to stay. Josh Bersin, business analyst and adviser specializing in talent management and HR issues stated that, “Generally speaking, what most companies tell me is that working together comes easily and people really enjoyed being back together, as long as they don’t feel forced to show up when there’s no real reason to be present” (ADAGE). So, what it really boils down to is employees seem to not want to feel like their being (work) forced into coming to the office. Now, there are some benefits and draw backs of hybrid work systems. Let’s discuss the benefits first. Hybrid work allows employees to feel more power in their roles. This gives them the choice to decide when and why to come into the office. It also allows for more employee overall work-life balance and wellbeing. Being that Locomotive is a fully-remote agency, we understand the importance of both. Now, let’s talk about some drawbacks. Remote employees have fewer work friends and feel less included. The work cultures have taken a hit with fully remote work. Another draw back from remote and hybrid work is digital overload due to lack of structured hours and increased number of online meetings that would typically be done in person. With these few things in mind, there are solutions that can be determined in order to keep hybrid work environments thriving without suffering the disadvantages. Managers will have to take strong roles in creating new norms for the office. They will have to establish guidelines to see what works best for everyone. Here are some of our tips to making hybrid work, work. 

1.     For what reasons it will be important to come in?

2.     Create relationship building events for employees.

3.     Create quiet spaces at the location to promote productivity when employees are at the office.

4.     Reduce the time spent in meetings.

Managers and CEO’s must realize that employees have lives of their own. It’s easy to want to micromanage when they work from home but giving them the space, they need to do the work will give them the freedom to give it their best on their terms.