CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the pandemic first hit in 2020, many companies sent their employees home to work. Now many companies want them back in the office.

A study on Resume Builder found one in four companies will increase required days in the office this year, but it also found eight in ten are losing workers because of it.

What You Need To Know

  • A study shows one in four companies will increase required days in the office in 2025

  • The same study shows eight in ten companies are also losing workers because of return to office policies

  • Remote work jumped nationally from under 10% before the pandemic to 30% after the pandemic

  • Some studies say remote work leads to lower turnover and higher job satisfaction, but others say it lowers productivity

Adam Reichenbach spends part of his workweek at home with his fiancé, Erica Fianchino, and their dog in their new house in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The manager of technology in the utility industry now works a hybrid schedule in the Charlotte area but, during the pandemic, he worked remotely full time for years.

“I didn’t have a desk for a long time, for like six months, because I thought it was temporary,” Riechenbach said. “Well, eventually I bought a desk.”

Now he’s only back in the office a few days a week, which is something he says he was excited to get back to.

“The office time, seeing coworkers, having those chats, not having to stare at a computer screen all day every day and actually be able to see someone in person made a big difference to me,” Reichenbach said.

Reichenbach is on one side of this debate with some companies losing employees if they’re forced to come back.

“Many workers say, ‘No, I can be more productive outside the office,’” said economist and N.C. State professor, Dr. Michael Walden.

Walden says the amount of remote work nationally has jumped from under 10% before the pandemic to about 25-30% now. He says the benefits for businesses include cutting costs on overhead. The benefits for employees include less cost for commuting and housing.

COVID-19: Five years later

 

“If you don’t have as many people coming in every day, you don’t have as much office space, you’re going to save money,” he said. “If you move outside of the metro areas, what you’ll notice is a dramatic reduction in housing costs.”

When it comes to productivity, Walden says it varies.

“Some studies have shown there is no reduction in productivity; others that there is. Some even show productivity goes up,” he said.

Adam and Erica both say the collaboration and social aspect of the office is important, but they agree things probably won’t ever be the same.

“Give it another 10 years and it’ll be like, ‘Yeah, our parents had to go in the office five days a week; it’s bananas,’” Fianchino said.

An Oct. 2024 article from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said some studies show remote work led to lower job turnover and higher job satisfaction, while other studies show productivity declined. Walden thinks this should be a business-by-business decision and believes we’ll continue seeing a mix of remote, hybrid and in-person workplaces for years to come.