Are Offices Going To Make A Comeback


The working landscape has shifted dramatically and allowed employees to work from anywhere. However, the topic of returning to the office (RTO) is filling up the conversations of corporate workers. However, it appears that the role of the physical office has now evolved into something much different.

Are offices going to make a comeback? If they do, will the traditional setup return exactly the way it used to be?

There are advantages and disadvantages to RTO which every company must weigh to decide if it will be necessary. Even if it is, it will not be how it was before the shift in the working landscape. New systems, facilities, and options must be in place to ensure an optimal working environment.

If you want to learn about how this might look in the near future, you can get a better idea by scrolling down to read the whole article.

Working In The Office Vs. Working From Anywhere

A Partnership for New York City surveyOpens in a new tab. conducted in the second half of 2022 saw a slow but steady trend of urban workers returning to the office. By the beginning of 2023, around 54% of employees will be working in the office on an average weekday. 

Nevertheless, the opportunity to work from anywhere is not something that employees will easily let go of either. FlexJobs’ 10th Annual SurveyOpens in a new tab. reported 24% of employees are willing to receive a pay cut as long as they are allowed to work remotely.

Which of the two is the better choice? It’s not a simple question with a clear-cut answer. Employees must consider the company’s industry, the nature of the individual jobs, and the wants and needs of the employees.

Raja JamalamadakaOpens in a new tab., a corporate speaker and the Managing Director at Roche Information Solutions, says, “[The debate of] work-from-home vs. work-from-office isn’t an end; it is a means to an end of fulfilling the business goals.”

We wrote a separate article entitled “Working From Anywhere Vs. Returning To Office”Opens in a new tab. to give you a better glimpse of how the two setups compare.

Advantages Of Working In The Office

1. Accessible Company Resources

One of the struggles of many newly remote workers is accessing resources relevant to the job. Not everyone has an office space with a comfortable work desk, a fully functioning PC, and a printer for hard-copy files at home. You do not have to worry about these things when working in a company office.

In a traditional office setup, the company provides all the technologies and facilities its employees need. Some company offices even have lounging spaces, pantries, and gyms to accommodate not just the work needs but also the overall comfort of employees.

2. Better Defined Work-Life Boundaries

Employees tend to take it for granted, but one of the most significant contributions of the physical office to their work-life balance is drawing physical and mental boundaries between the two. Being in an office environment sets people’s minds to work. Returning home helps employees get ready for quality me-time or family time.

With the advent of remote work, work-life boundaries are increasingly difficult to define, leading to burnout and mental health concerns among employees.

“The lack of a physical division between our work-life and our life-life since we started working remotely makes it very difficult to draw mental boundaries,” says Rachel ParnesOpens in a new tab., the Senior Marketing Manager at LinkedIn.

Considering this, it is not too far-fetched to assume that RTO can create a better-defined work-life boundary.

3. Greater Accountability

Working in the office also instills a greater sense of accountability because your managers and supervisors are within the same building. Moreover, there are fewer distractions because an office environment is designed to direct your focus to your tasks. 

By contrast, when working at home, there are far more activities that are not directly related to your work. It’s easier to be distracted at home. Being with other people working on similar tasks helps people stay focused.

Additionally, communication flows better when all employees are within the same property. Hence, it is easier to follow up on tasks and get things done earlier.

4. More Established Company Culture And Values

Dan Boram wrote in a Forbes articleOpens in a new tab., “When employees do not work in a centralized location or do not see each other in person regularly, connection, collaboration, and company culture diminish.”

What does this mean? 

A physical office plays a vital role in instilling the company’s culture and values in its employees. Employees working remotely might not connect with the company’s vision. When employees work in one office, the company’s vision has more opportunities to come up in conversations, training your subconscious to incorporate it into your work. The company’s branding can also be part of the design of the office.

5. Social Interaction

It’s easy to underestimate what we have until we lose it. While many employees might not appreciate daily social interaction, a number of people have found isolation to be more of a drain on their mental health. Isolation is also a significant impediment to communication, collaboration, and creativity.

According to Paulo LopesOpens in a new tab., the Senior Marketing Manager at IT company Haltian: 

“Physical proximity will enable better social interactions; people will read more easily nonverbal cues and create stronger bonds with co-workers. This will in turn boost the purpose and sense of belonging to the company and reinforce the goal contagion phenomenon.”

Healthy social interaction leads to fewer misunderstandings. Improving collaboration also produces more creative and satisfying results for the company.

Disadvantages Of Working In The Office

1. Time And Money Wasted On Commute

The 2021 Flexjobs SurveyOpens in a new tab. reports having to commute as the number one reason employees would refuse the RTO setup, and understandably so since commuting takes up a lot of valuable time and money that could have been spent on something else.

To validate this, a Washington Post articleOpens in a new tab. estimates that the average American spends about 250 hours a year on the road. Meanwhile, a Fortune articleOpens in a new tab. reports an annual budget of an estimated 5,679 USD spent on gas or fares.

Remote workers, then, pose a valid argument that if employees could use commuting time and money to do more work, it could lead to an increase in productivity. If used for quality personal time, it could have improved employees’ mental health and well-being.

2. Less Flexibility

When most employees began working remotely, they felt liberated by the flexibility in when and where they would work. The flexibility to spend more time with family is often the second main reason they prefer to work remotely after not having to commute.

A Forbes article entitled “Why Flexible Work Boosts Employee Productivity”Opens in a new tab. quotes Lindsay Mustain, author of 7 Critical Resume Mistakes To Avoid, “Employees have been statistically proven to be more efficient when provided the opportunity to independently work when, how, and as much as they like.” 

Furthermore, the lack of flexible options does not only take away from the employees but from the business as well. A company with more flexible options typically experiences decreased employee turnover and greater engagement.

For more about this topic, you may read the article called, “Workplace Flexibility and Productivity”Opens in a new tab. accessible on our website. 

3. Intrusive Micromanagement

Micromanagement is a significant issue that has plagued the workplace for a long time. It has even pushed some employees to resign.

A survey conducted by Trinity Solutions, Inc. was published in Harry Chambers’ book called My Way or the HighwayOpens in a new tab.. According to its findings, 62% of respondents considered changing jobs due to micromanagement, with 32% doing so.

But why does micromanagement pose a greater threat in a physical office than in remote work?

The answer is simple. Greater accountability is an advantage. However, micromanagement can happen more frequently and flagrantly in a physical office. In-person interruptions present a more prominent threat to productivity than if they happened remotely.

4. Fewer Travel Opportunities

Because there is less flexibility in working in a physical office, there are also fewer opportunities for traveling.

When remote work gained traction, another trend also began: the workcation. In the difficulty of figuring out the boundaries needed to establish work-life balance in this new work setup, some decided to take advantage of the blurring boundaries instead. Why not work while on vacation at the same time? You can learn more about this by reading the article we wrote entitled “What Is Workation? The New Remote Work Mode”Opens in a new tab..

Now that RTO is becoming the talk of everyone, the trend of workation might be facing an impending decline.

5. Limited Talent Pool

You’ve probably heard of the term location bias before. Statistically speaking, job applicants who live closer to the company office location are more likely to be considered and hired. This criterion makes sense if employees have to work in the physical office.

However, Samantha McLarenOpens in a new tab., Lead Copywriter of Global Impact Marketing on LinkedIn, states that “when the local talent pool isn’t particularly diverse, it can be harder for recruiters to attract and source underrepresented talents.”

Working in a physical office limits the company’s access to diverse talents, making it difficult to be truly inclusive. Underrepresented applicants may feel left out, unseen, and even unvalued.

Will Offices Make a Comeback?

So, are offices going to make a comeback? Yes and no.

Every company must decide for itself and consider numerous advantages and disadvantages. When remote work got mass introduced into the workforce, employees found new things to value: flexibility, autonomy, and inclusivity. They also learned to appreciate the previously overlooked benefits of the physical office: resources, accountability, and interaction with colleagues.

Here’s what Andrew SeamanOpens in a new tab., Managing Editor for Jobs and Career Development at LinkedIn News, says on the matter:

“Some companies may decide a completely or mostly virtual experience works for their business and employees. Others may land on the opposite side of the spectrum and bring back all or most of their employees into a workplace. Many will fall somewhere in the middle.” 

Remember that the decision-making process underlying this goes beyond just picking your most preferred advantages. If a company decides to enforce the RTO setup, it also needs to plan and systematize possible ways to incorporate remote work values into the physical office.

Preparing Your Business For An Office Comeback

1. Offer Flexible Options

Simply forcing your employees to return to the office is a big no-no, tantamount to forcing a significant percentage of your workers to resign. What you need to do is take an empathetic approach and try to understand the benefits of flexibility for your employees and, consequently, your business.

Many new employees began with a remote setup. Their entire lives may be based around remote work and might not have the flexibility to fit into a rigid office setup. Some of your employees might be residing a whole region away or farther. Some may have responsibilities at home.

“Flexibility is not just a desire—it could become an ultimatum,” states Shawn Farshchi in a Forbes articleOpens in a new tab.

Try to have an open conversation with your employees. Discuss the advantages of RTO, and listen to their concerns about it. Find common ground. If a hybrid setup is possible, you can offer that as an alternative.

2. Introduce New Benefits

The fear that their well-being will no longer be a company priority is one concern that makes employees doubt the efficacy of working in the office again. To address this, employers should introduce new benefits.

New benefits may be in the form of compensation, allowance, more vacations, or mindfulness programs. Show employees that RTO will not work against them. Since they have to go back to spending time and money on commuting, why not begin by offering reimbursements for that?

3. Enforce Health Protocols And Programs

Employee health is and must always be a priority. If companies will ask their employees to return to the office, they need to provide standardized health protocols and procedures to ensure that the office will provide a safe environment.

Additionally, health programs must focus on the physical and mental health of employees simultaneously.

According to Aishwarya JainOpens in a new tab., Lead Product Evangelist at peopleHum, “To prepare employees to return to the office, they need to be made to feel safe, physically and mentally.”

To avoid burnout and depression resulting from the job, a well-defined mental health policy should also be in place.

4. Make Efforts To Be Inclusive

A diverse and inclusive workplace has greater potential to be creative and productive. While it can be challenging to overcome geographical limits in a work-from-office setup, there are many ways to be more inclusive in other aspects.

Geographical inclusivity can be in the form of the following:

  • Establishing policies against discriminatory remarks and practices in the office
  • Installing gender-neutral bathrooms
  • Installing facilities for people with disabilities
  • Asking for anonymous opinions and feedback

5. Upgrade Technologies

If anything, remote work is a clear example of how far technology can take you. Employees must understand that just because employees are returning to the office, technology will not go back to the sidelines.

On the contrary, even the physical office will need to make adjustments for the advent of contactless measures such as cashless transactions and geo-tagging. With hacking on the rise, there is also a need for cybersecurity software advancements. We have written a detailed article on cybersecurity called “Is Your Computer Prepared to Face the Rising Cybersecurity Threats?”Opens in a new tab.

Furthermore, remember that if specific business processes and operations function under remote work, there’s no need to let go of the setup. Keep it. Let technology and the physical office work together.

Decide On The Office’s Role

Aishwarya JainOpens in a new tab. also states, “Reopening the workplace will mean creating a space that employees will want to come back to.” Hence, you must decide what role the office will play, both in your business goals and your employees’ lives.

Is the primary role of the office to be a cohesive space that reinforces company culture? Is it a functional area that seeks to convenience the employees’ working process? Is it just a place for occasional get-togethers?

Whatever you decide it may be, you must communicate it to your employees. The result of that communication should decide whether or not offices will make a comeback, and if they do, how they will do it.

Related Questions

1. Can employees refuse to return to the office?

Legally, your employer has the right to ask you to return to the office upon ensuring there are safety measures in place. However, employees as a group have a voice, so consider where they might be able to work their best. Not everyone delivers peak performance at the office — you might find that some employees have better output from non-traditional setups.

2. Will remote work disappear?

No. Remote work has always existed and it will continue to be around in the future. However, it is unlikely for it to replace the office setting within industries that require face-to-face meetings, such as medicine, construction, and manufacturing.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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