Over the past year, there has been a seemingly never-ending barrage of companies announcing new in-person expectations. Some did it quietly. Others very publicly. Some nudged employees with “three days encouraged.” Others simply said five.
Regardless of how it’s being packaged, the direction of travel is pretty clear. Return to office isn’t really a debate anymore. It’s a trend. (And per data from real estate firm JLL, the trend accelerated in ‘25 vs. ‘24).
Early in the pandemic it wasn’t an uncommon belief that remote work would permanently redefine how most companies operated. Five years later, that prediction looks overstated. Remote work isn’t disappearing, but the idea that most organizations would operate primarily remote appears unlikely.
In investing, there’s a phrase people use when the market has already absorbed new information: they say it’s “priced in.” And at this point, return-to-office largely feels “priced in.”
Most employers have concluded that, in many environments, being together simply works better. Collaboration moves faster. New employees learn quicker. Culture forms more naturally. Managers can coach in real time instead of trying to recreate those moments over scheduled video calls.
That doesn’t mean flexibility goes away (flexibility is one of the dimensions along which companies will differentiate going forward). But the framing is changing.
Remote work increasingly looks less like a default operating model and more like a benefit. And like most benefits, it tends to get balanced against other parts of the compensation equation. Remote roles on LinkedIn receive 40% of applicants even though they represent less than 10% of listings, which is exactly what you would expect if something scarce suddenly became highly valued.
Once something starts behaving like a perk, the economics tend to adjust.
Logic follows that remote flexibility will increasingly trade off against other benefits over time. Lower wages, fewer perks, or slower advancement in exchange for greater location freedom. The market has a way of finding that balance.
For employers navigating this shift, a few slightly provocative assertions:
First, organizations probably have more room than they think to adjust policies. Early on there was a lot of concern about backlash, but expectations seem to be resetting.
Second, we suspect more companies will start setting different policies for existing employees versus new hires. That once felt taboo. Given the current circumstances, we think it’s easier to simply grandfather current teams while setting clearer expectations for incoming roles.
And third, eliminating flexibility entirely will still make hiring harder. In today’s market, refusing any flexibility is a bit like refusing to offer PTO or health insurance. You can do it, but the candidate pool shrinks quickly.
Our blunt guess is that the landing zone for most organizations, for most roles, will be fully in-person… with flexibility. Much more time in the office than during the pandemic years, but more flexibility than existed before 2020.
But if you’re just wondering which direction the broader trend is moving…well, it’s happening.
Until next time,
Your Spherion WI & Northern IL team