Required in-office days increased 12% over the past year while actual office attendance rose only 1–3%, indicating widespread noncompliance with return-to-office mandates. Remote work became common during the COVID-19 pandemic as commutes and cubicles faded and many workers adopted hybrid schedules. Some employees report improved work-life balance from working at home and resist forced returns. Employers argue in-person work fosters collaboration, mentoring and company culture. High-profile firms like JPMorgan rescinded flexible policies, prompting morale declines and public pushback from workers on surveys and social media.
The average number of days employees are required to be in the office rose 12% over the past year, but office attendance showed an increase of just 1% to 3%, according to Brian Elliott, CEO of Work Forward and publisher of the Flex Index, which produced the report. "The harsh return to the office mandate is like the law against jaywalking. It exists, everybody knows about it and nobody obeys it because it makes little sense," said Stanford University economics professor Nick Bloom, who studies remote work.
Showing up in the office five days a week was the norm until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down offices across America. With millions forced to work from home, commutes and cubicles faded into the rearview as the flexibility of remote work caught on. Even as offices reopened, many workers continued logging in from home offices or worked a hybrid schedule two to three days a week.
When JPMorgan Chase put the kibosh on flexible, hybrid schedules this year, CEO Jamie Dimon forcefully defended the move, saying returning to the office five days a week was essential to mentor new employees and foster company culture. The new mandates were not popular with everyone. Morale took a hit at JPMorgan and elsewhere.
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