The remote work trend spiked during the pandemic, with over 50% of full workdays in the U.S. being remote in spring 2020.
Since then, it’s decreased but has remained steady at around 28% since early 2023.
Some high-profile executives like Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan and Mark Zuckerberg have expressed scepticism about remote work. Yet, even they don’t expect the return-to-office push to succeed.
Despite some CEOs publically pushing for a return to office, in private, executives expect remote work to continue growing.
This is backed by the recent Survey of Business Uncertainty jointly conducted by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, the University of Chicago, and Stanford, which surveyed senior executives across various U.S. industries. The survey highlights the growing trend of both fully remote and hybrid work.
There are several reasons for this expected increase.
- First, as remote-working technology improves, more people work remotely.
- Second, startups born since the pandemic are more likely to use remote work.
- Third, employees like remote work, valuing it as much as an 8% pay increase.
Concerns about productivity losses with remote work exist.
However, research suggests that while fully remote work may be up to 10% less productive, it’s also much cheaper.
Hybrid work seems to have little net effect on productivity and may even increase it.
The future of remote work remains uncertain, but it’s clear that a significant return to the office is unlikely.
Remote technologies will only improve, and employees will favour firms with flexible policies.
