Workplace trends changed massively during Covid-19. Between April and December 2020, remote work made up as much as 50% of all paid work, compared to 5% before the pandemic. 

Today, working from home is still popular among most employees. Almost all, 98%, of people would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the remainder of their careers.

Despite this trend, there are increasing return-to-office mandates, where bosses require employees to work on-site. Business owners are dealing with the great “trilemma” — is it better for your workplace to be remote, in office or hybrid? 

Below I outline some perspectives on how to think about what’s best for your people, your culture and your bottom line. 

The Business Perspective

Remote work offers businesses various benefits:

• Remote workers often save their employers money on utilities, such as electricity and water. With employees at home, businesses can also downsize their offices, reducing rental costs and other expenses. 
• Businesses can source remote workers from anywhere in the world. That includes freelancers, contractors and specialists with highly sought-after skills who might live in a faraway location. With access to a wider pool of employees, companies have the opportunity to increase employee productivity and performance. 

When companies offer remote positions, they demonstrate that they value their workers’ priorities, including increased flexibility. That commitment to employee satisfaction can strengthen companies’ brands, further increasing their appeal in the eyes of highly qualified job seekers.

However, remote work can pose various challenges for businesses:

• With workers in remote locations, maintaining company culture can be tricky. For example, instilling values in employees is challenging if they aren’t in the office. 
• Employees might struggle to communicate and collaborate on projects when multiple people are in different locations, across time zones.

Businesses should weigh the pros and cons above before forcing remote workers to return to the office or deciding to go all remote. A return-to-office mandate might make sense if it will increase performance, profitability and in-person collaboration. 

According to a study by ResumeBuilder, cited in HireQuest’s free whitepaper, 70% of companies plan to increase or maintain the number of days they require employees to be in the office in 2025.

Effect on Productivity

Are remote workers more productive than their in-office counterparts? It depends on who you ask. According to one study, remote work productivity was over 7% higher than in-office productivity. However, other research suggests that fully remote employees are 10%-20% less productive. 

Different models will have different solutions — but be careful to base your decision on productivity, not on what style works best for you as a leader. 

Setting productivity KPIs and ensuring you have the data to track it is crucial for making the right decisions. 

What’s the Way Forward for Businesses and Employees?

In 2021, 83% of employers believed their remote work models were successful. Three years later, more companies are issuing return-to-office mandates. As remote work offers both benefits and challenges, businesses need to consider whether this model is right for them. 

Our whitepaper states: Companies executing [back-to-office] mandates say they have significant concerns about remote work impeding their long-term success and competitiveness. Some argue that remote work hinders creativity and innovation because it minimizes in-person interactions and the spontaneous exchanges of ideas that occur in office settings.

At the end of the day, different types of businesses with different employee bases will need different solutions. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. 

What’s most important is that leaders are cautious to watch for their personal bias: Base your decision on productivity, not on what style works best for you as a leader.  When you’re evaluating and navigating between remote and in-office work, setting and tracking productivity metrics can be the difference between business success or catastrophe.