The Quiet Return to Office: Global Trends vs. Local Realities
2020: Covid catapulted remote work from a perk to a necessity.
2022: Uncertainty as restrictions eased. What does hybrid working look like?
2023: Large companies announcing 'Return to Work' policies.
2024: What will be the future of home or remote work?
It's now standard, almost an expectation, that modern office environments have a working from home arrangement. Job seekers may even elect to exclusively only apply for fully remote roles. There's dialogue in social platforms commentating on this movement is quite humourous from a recruitment perspective:
Twitter: @Chris_Heard
Going into 2024, let's have a look at the landscape both anecdotally from myself as a recruiter and more generally from large companies. We'll focus on the technology industry given what DR Analytics Recruitment does!
Global Trends in WFH Ratios
Across multinational technology companies we've seen announcements in the last year to have more in office presence. To name a few:
Google: hybrid 3 days per week in April 2023 [source]
Meta: hybrid 3 days per week in September 2023 [source]
Disney: Monday - Thursday mandated in January 2023 [source]
The list goes on with IBM, Microsoft, Tesla and Amazon being a part of it.
Many companies initially embraced remote work, citing increased productivity and employee satisfaction. However, recent news suggests a gradual shift back to in-person work, albeit at a slower pace than pre-pandemic levels. Companies are experimenting with hybrid models, blending the flexibility of remote work with the collaborative benefits of physical office spaces.
The increase in return to work hybrid plan suggests a decrease in fully 100% remote roles at a global level.
Local Realities Observed by Employers
Who do we see in Australia for return to work announcements?
National Australia Bank (NAB)
Zoom
Commonwealth Bank
Microsoft
The return to the office in the Australian tech sector is underway yet marked by a tension between employer expectations and employee preferences. While some companies are pushing for a return to in-person work with incentives, many employees continue to value the flexibility and autonomy of remote work. This shift is stirring debates about productivity, trust, and work-life balance.
Employers are exploring hybrid models, but face challenges in addressing the diverse needs of their workforce, including the desire of some employees to continue working remotely due to personal circumstances or preferences [source]. Companies like Canva and Icon Group keep staff remote around Australia. Other companies in the tech space have decided to no longer hire anymore remote staff but not dismiss the current ones they have.
LinkedIn Sentiment: Flexibility vs. Return-to-Office (RTO)
On LinkedIn, there's a clear sentiment that flexibility is key. Professionals in our sector value the ability to choose their work environment. Companies rigidly enforcing RTO policies are often seen less favourably. An interesting trend is the “talent shift” – whenever a competitor announces an RTO policy, we witness a movement of talent towards more flexible companies. This highlights the importance of work environment in talent retention and acquisition.
Now in talking about the LinkedIn sentiment towards RTO is would be foolish not to visit this social commentary which highlighted a large irony in Zoom's RTO.
Zoom's Return to Work Social Commentary
Personal Observations: The Value of In-Person Collaboration
Personally, I see immense value in in-person collaboration, especially for roles that require intensive teamwork and learning. Yet, there is time where deep uninterrupted work from home is beneficial say for a project that needs a lot of development time.
One client of DR Analytics Recruitment fosters the idea that staff shouldn't necessarily work from the office but should instead show up to team lunches, coffees and planning days at least x number of times per month. This allows for flexibility while encouraging face to face interactions and comradery.
In-person interactions create a learning environment that's hard to replicate virtually. However, this view isn't universal. Many professionals, particularly those in roles like Data Scientists or Data Engineers, find they can perform effectively in a remote setting.
No two situations are completely the same though. Different roles and different companies require different levels of interpersonal interaction. The number one requirement for a successful working arrangement is that it provides the most business value!
DR Analytics Recruitment
I'm Douglas - former data analyst and Founder of DR Analytics Recruitment. We grow people and businesses with an exclusive focus on recruitment of data & analytics professionals. Companies use us because of our industry expertise, specialisation and technical testing.
Get in touch to learn more!