Companies were scared of COVID. They wanted and needed to protect their workers, so they begrudgingly allowed them to work from home all the time. This was called the era of remote working. Fast forward five years, and the majority of employers are demanding that their workers come into the office at least a few days a week. That raises an important question: is working from home as a job option becoming a thing of the past? That’s what I’ll examine further in this article.
Many Jobs Can Be Done Either Mostly or Entirely Remotely
That’s not just a statement that I am making. Gallup the most recent research by Gallup reveals that approximately half of the full-time jobs that Americans work can be done remotely. Approximately 27% of them are completely remote, and 53% of them are hybrid. Interestingly enough, the completely remote and hybrid workers are more productive and perform better than their counterparts who go into the office 5 days a week.
Work from home was at its peak during the pandemic when it increased by almost tenfold. It’s now about 5 times pre-pandemic levels, five years later. Most people spend about 1.5 days working from home now. Interestingly enough, Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom has analyzed the data and discovered that remote employees are more productive, more likely to stay, and bring their companies an average of $2,000 more in profit (per remote employee!)
Remote Working Has Some Disadvantages Though
Remote working is not without its drawbacks. One of them is career advancement. If you are a remote worker, you’re 31% less likely than your peers who work in offices 5 days a week, or even your friends and co-workers who have hybrid positions to be promoted. The reason is simple: since you’re not in the office at all, you miss out on vital opportunities to develop relationships with key people who decide who gets promoted and when.
You’re also probably making a lot less per year than your co-workers and friends who come into the office regularly to the tune of $22,000. Yes, data from Zip Recruiter was analyzed and revealed that those who come into the office, and even hybrid workers make about (average) $22 grand more a year than those who work from home!
Companies are Pressuring Workers to Come Back to the Office
Some have even gone so far as to ‘encourage’ or even threaten those who refuse to come back to the office with forced quitting. Industry giants like Amazon and JP Morgan are notorious for doing that. Dell refuses to internally promote remote employees. Amazingly, of the CEOs surveyed by KPMG, over 80 percent of them want remote employees to come to the office within three years.
Employers are Discovering that Asking Employees Back to the Office is Difficult
Yes, if you’re an employer, you’re probably finding that asking your remote employees to come back to the office is easier said than done! Employees are angry at the prospect of having to come back to the office fore more than a few days a week. That may be evidenced by the fact that 75% of companies who have an RTO policy haven’t actually enforced it.
About ⅘ of companies with an RTO policy have had employees quit because of it. Employers are seeing the writing on the walls and most are, not so willingly, enforcing a hybrid policy to keep employees happy.
The Final Verdict
The verdict is in. While employers would love to have employees come into the office 5 days a week, that may be wishful thinking. Most are happy with a hybrid schedule for their workers. So, the answer to the question, “is entirely wfh becoming a thing of the past? Is “Yes, it is!”
