Leadership is forcing new hires into offices — what's next for RTO and WFH

In the years following the pandemic, employees have proven that not only do they prefer working remotely or in hybrid environments, it's more productive for them, too. But are new recruits signaling the end of this flexibility? 

In a recent panel survey of U.S. working adults, workplace analytics platform Perceptyx found that the share of new hires working from the office rose from 62% to 69% since the end of the pandemic. While remote, hybrid and in-person roles have remained stable, new hires aren't being given this same flexibility, an ominous sign for WFH holdouts.   

"It seems like the headlines everywhere said there's this push back to the office, and the truth is that employers are not having a ton of success with it," says Emily Killham, senior director of people analytics, research and insights at Perceptyx. "Folks are either leaving or just saying 'No thank you' to returning to the office. But new employees don't have that same freedom." 

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While new hires — including young professionals and transfers — are still interested in remote work, the share of job descriptions advertising remote and hybrid work fell 18% between February 2022 and May 2023, according to Indeed — and it's not because those jobs no longer exist, according to Killham. Rather, it's a recruiting strategy of sorts.     

"While those companies may have initially filled a certain role with someone who they allowed to work remotely or in a hybrid environment, when that person turns over, the job description is changed and the next person is hired as an in-office replacement," says Killham. "So that is what's tipping the scales — it's much more difficult to force people back to the office who have already proven that they can be successful with flexibility, [rather than] than just listing new positions."

And while the strategy has the potential to keep in-person statistics rising, it has prompted some current hybrid or remote workers to hold on to their positions, despite being weary of the new strategy out of fear that they may not find opportunities with the flexibility they once had. On a larger scale, it also risks further entrenching existing proximity bias concerns. 

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"Managers and employees alike are thinking they might not get the same amount of opportunities [in the aftermath]," Killham says. "What is this recruiting strategy going to do for team dynamics as more experienced people continue to work in a hybrid environment and new hires are full time in-person? What does that do for future promotions? Are we going to see a disproportionate impact in places where equity is already a problem?"

However, there are a few upsides to implementing this strategy, according to Killham. For example, loneliness in the workplace continues to be a persistent problem facing many remote and hybrid employees who are seeking more connection within their companies. But employers will still have to ensure those in-person opportunities still satiate what the workforce wants and needs in their careers, which is different from what worked pre-pandemic. 

"The performance management strategy that has won for decades is to trust people, hire great talent, set some great outcomes, move any barriers that are in their way and then get out of their way as a leader," she says. "To continue to win in that space, companies will still have to allow some workplace flexibility, whether they continue to call it hybrid or not."