Solving The Return-To Office & Hybrid Workplace Puzzle

We’re at an inflection point in the way we work. Again.

While the Biden administration is set to end the public health emergency declaration in May 2023, for many workers, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workplace will continue long after that. According to the career site Zippia, 74% of U.S. companies are using or will implement a permanent hybrid model, while remote workers are expected to increase by nearly 17 million professions by 2025.

As this new workplace format continues to evolve, many companies are questioning how to create a cohesive culture or successfully collaborate in a fractured office. Others are struggling with enforcing return-to-office policies or creating workplaces that value remote and in-person team members equally. Still others, in light of all-time low employee engagement and retention levels, are asking themselves: 

• Is the hybrid model working?
• Do the policies we have now make sense for the long haul? Are they what’s best for company morale, and for our bottom line?
• What does hybrid work mean for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB)?
• And, no matter what ratio of remote vs. in-office work we’ve landed on, how can we implement these policies in a way that’s fair, consistent, and of actual benefit to workers?

In this report, PowerToFly sought to answer these questions, take stock of the unique moment we’re in, and offer actionable next steps for implementing a remote, back-to-office, or hybrid policy that fits the needs of your organization and its most important asset: your people.