Remote work is becoming a thing of the past. More and more companies require return to offices

The pandemic proved that being in the office isn’t always necessary. Some employees actually thrived working from home, boosting their productivity. However, companies have spotted downsides to this model and are now urging employees to return to the office. In the best-case scenario, employees are only expected in the office a few days a week.

The decline of remote work

Recent moves by companies show that fully remote work is becoming harder and harder to come by. Even companies that still allow full remote work are increasingly summoning employees back to the office. The new norm is hybrid work - requiring at least two days a week in the office, often decided without consulting that with the employees.

Such moves are usually only within reach of industry giants. It’s a different story for smaller companies, where an employee used to remote work might respond to a return-to-office order by simply handing in their resignation. Starting in September, Nokia employees will have to swap their home offices for the real thing, according to one of the current employees:

Allegro and Google operate in a similiar way, with Google largely sticking to hybrid work since 2021. Corporations argue that presence at the office makes it easier to share knowledge, organize tasks, and consult on projects. Remote work can also make communication between different departments more difficult.

Changes in the market are clearly reflected in job postings. The Progress Group checked the numbers, and here’s what they found: 47% of listings were for fully on-site jobs, 20% for hybrid roles, and just 8% for fully remote positions. This shows that, given the choice, most companies would rather have employees in the office five days a week rather than only on certain days - or not at all.

• tech