Just 6 out of 158 U.S. CEOs said they’ll prioritize bringing workers back to the office full-time in 2024, according to a new survey released by the Conference Board.
Why it matters: Executives are increasingly resigned to a world where employees don’t come in every day, as hybrid work arrangements — mixing work from home and in-office — become the norm for knowledge workers.
Zoom in: “Maintain hybrid work,” was cited as a priority by 27% of the U.S. CEOs who responded to the survey, conducted in October and November.
- A separate survey of chief financial officers by Deloitte, conducted in November, found that 65% of CFOs expect their company to offer a hybrid arrangement this year.
State of play: “Remote work appears likely to be the most persistent economic legacy of the pandemic,” write Goldman Sachs economists in a recent note.
- About 20%-25% of workers in the U.S. work from home at least part of the week, according to data Goldman cites.
- That’s below a peak of 47% during the pandemic but well above its prior average of around 3%.
Good luck. People would rather quit and find another job than come back to the office.
I quit my job nearly a year ago, but RTO was the symptom of a larger micromanaging-asshat problem that appeared after a short coup in management.
Still, moved to a new job with familiar peers from an old job where the toxic asshattery self-corrected during the pandemic: micromanaging dicks couldn’t cope with mandated WFH and got themselves new jobs, so the only ones left were actually good managers. WFH was just the symptom of good management, and the canary in the coal mine.
This shop kept 1% desks as ‘hotel’ spots, and a rotating stuckee to receive packages, but the rest of the space was given back; and it’s now hiring from across the country to get the best talent.
I remember reading about a Seattle based company that had like tripled the size of their staff during the pandemic by poaching engineers from other companies simply by offering them remote/hybrid options. The CEO said that it was the easiest time they ever had filling positions and expanding their business.