At the start of Covid-19, remote work became a staple of life for so many of us regardless of whether we’d gone into the office full-time before. Hybrid policies were relatively rare in those pre-Covid days. Now, the expectation of flexibility has turned the idea of a return to office into a horror story for some. For others, a return to the office gives hope for returning to a world like the one we were in prior to the pandemic.

In our second annual State of In-Person/Hybrid/Remote Work Survey, we asked our community about how they work. How often are they in the office? Do they wish their work was more flexible? Are they happy with the amount of time they spend in the office? 

Compared to last year, the percentage of people who have a hybrid role has increased from 60% to 66%. The biggest change that we’re seeing is that in 2024, only 10% said they went into the office three days a week. That percentage has jumped to 24%. Per our respondents, the average number of days in-office for those going in on at least a weekly basis is now 2.81 days. This fits with overall increases in average number of days in office: up to 2.78 according to the Flex Index’s Q4 2024 Flex Report.

With companies’ stated policies, we’re seeing similar results to above: the number of people who are fully remote is declining while the number of those working in-office three days a week is increasing. While last year we saw the greatest adherence to company policy from those who either work fully remote or only go in occasionally, this year the group most likely to follow the stated policy is those going into the office two days a week, followed closely by those working three days a week and those who work fully remote. 

Given what we know about the roles we’ve worked on for our clients, we were curious if our community tended to have set days they were supposed to be in the office (e.g. Tuesdays and Wednesdays every week they’re in-office) or if they have a set number of days they need to be in the office weekly (e.g. two days are required but the days of the week they choose can vary from week to week). Interestingly, the results were fairly even with a slightly higher percentage having a set number of days.

Finally, we asked our community if they were happy with the number of days they spend in the office. While the percentage of those who are happy has remained high, that number has fallen from 72% last year down to 68% this year. Those who were the happiest with the amount of time they spend in-office in order were those in-office full time, those in-office four days a week, and those who are fully remote. The group that was most likely to want more days in-office was those going in occasionally. Those going in three days a week were the most likely to want fewer days in the office. Those going in two days a week were the most likely to want to work fully remote. That percentage was so high, in fact, that it matched the percentage of those who were happy with how often they are in the office: 40%. 

We know that there are a number of benefits to remote and hybrid work: better retention of talent, attraction of diverse candidates, decrease in burnout, increased productivity, and more work-life balance. Slowly, we’re seeing more studies proving the efficacy of hybrid work while disproving some of the concerns. And the demand for hybrid and remote work isn’t going anywhere. 46% of US workers would leave if they could no longer work remotely, and remote work is now the top requested workplace accommodation. 

Some companies are starting the year by enforcing their existing policies. Starbucks has threatened to fire any employees who don’t abide by their three-day in-office policy. We’re seeing the beginning of the end for hybrid work for Amazon, Dell, J.P. Morgan, the MLB, and even federal employees. 
A major concern for mandating a return to in-office work is retention. In the case of federal employees, the hope is that a large number of employees will quit, but it’s unclear if Amazon is prepared to potentially lose two-thirds of their corporate workforce. We’re also seeing new record highs of office vacancy rates for the second year in a row. So, while everyone has been saying that hybrid has won the RTO war, there’s no doubt that 2025 could be the year it all shifts.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Houde is a Project Manager at Chaloner. After graduating from Guilford College where they majored in English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and minored in communications, Elizabeth started their career in New York City in publishing as an editorial coordinator.