The pandemic-era experiment in mass remote work was supposed to have been resolved by now. Five years on, the conflict between employers who want workers back in offices and workers who have restructured their lives around location flexibility shows few signs of resolution.
According to Stanford's Work From Home Research Project, approximately 28% of paid work days in the US are now performed remotely โ down from 61% at the pandemic peak, but dramatically higher than the 5% pre-2020. Knowledge workers in technology, finance, and professional services work remotely far more than those in manufacturing, retail, or healthcare.
Amazon, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and most recently Google have issued five-day return-to-office mandates. The mandates have been met with resistance, high attrition among valued employees, and a growing body of research suggesting the productivity case for full-time office attendance is weaker than employers claim.
The companies demanding full-time office attendance are not doing so because the data shows it improves productivity. They are doing so because management feels more comfortable when they can see people.