Even as company executives across the country engage in a tug-of-war with remote employees over return-to-office mandates (going as far as threatening workers with termination of their employment for not complying with them), new data suggests that some executives may finally begin raising the white flag in the battle over remote work in 2024.
Next year, it is estimated that more than two-thirds of companies in the U.S. will offer more flexibility regarding work locations. They see the benefits of such a move including the ability to attract more talent, increased employee satisfaction and productivity, according to software company Scoop's 2024 Flex Report.
Related: Leaked document reveals Amazon's return-to-office mandate just got nastier
“Additionally, we see smaller and faster growing companies adopt flexible working patterns, and over time these firms will make up a larger share of the overall company pool and outcompete many traditional firms,” said Arpit Gupta, associate professor of finance at NYU Stern School of Business, in the report. “Even a recessionary environment may contribute to this trend, as firms will seek to cut costs through office expenses.”
It is predicted in the report that companies that allow more flexible work schedules and locations will outperform their competitors “dramatically” in 2024. Data in the report shows that between 2020 and 2022, companies that were fully flexible had industry adjusted revenue growth of 21%, much higher than the 5% growth of companies that required in-office time.
“I believe that companies who root their culture in trust and accountability will be rewarded in the market,” said Brian Elliot, co-founder of Future Forum, in the report. “Trust-based organizations have employees who go the extra mile. Pairing trust with a strong focus on accountability for delivering outcomes will be the recipe for outperformance. In contrast, companies who move backwards on trust -- or who take a ‘wait and see’ approach to flexibility -- may change their minds as evidence mounts in 2024.”
Executives in 2024 might also “be forced to admit” that their return-to-office mandates did not boost productivity. According to a survey from Atlassian, which polled execs from Fortune 500 companies, company leaders cited low productivity as one of their top challenges, despite 91% of them having in-office mandates.
“It seems like many already know that these mandates aren’t the answer. Only 1 in 3 executives with an in-office mandate are convinced that their in-office policies have had a positive effect on productivity,” said Annie Dean, vice president of Team Anywhere at Atlassian, in the report.
In-office mandates continue to be a point of contention for employees as a recent survey from FlexJobs that polled over 8,000 work professionals found that 56% of respondents either know someone who has quit or plans to quit their jobs due to return-to-office mandates.
The survey also found that 51% of respondents preferred a fully remote job, and 46% preferred a hybrid job. Also, 63% of the respondents even cited that they are willing to take a pay cut in order to work remotely.
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