Just 6 out of 158 U.S. CEOs said they’ll prioritize bringing workers back to the office full-time in 2024, according to a new survey released by the Conference Board.
Why it matters: Executives are increasingly resigned to a world where employees don’t come in every day, as hybrid work arrangements — mixing work from home and in-office — become the norm for knowledge workers.
Zoom in: “Maintain hybrid work,” was cited as a priority by 27% of the U.S. CEOs who responded to the survey, conducted in October and November.
- A separate survey of chief financial officers by Deloitte, conducted in November, found that 65% of CFOs expect their company to offer a hybrid arrangement this year.
State of play: “Remote work appears likely to be the most persistent economic legacy of the pandemic,” write Goldman Sachs economists in a recent note.
- About 20%-25% of workers in the U.S. work from home at least part of the week, according to data Goldman cites.
- That’s below a peak of 47% during the pandemic but well above its prior average of around 3%.
I’m sure there were sneaky C suite jerks who tried to use return to office to filter out some headcount, but I’m not sure it would actually be wise from a practical standpoint.
If office workers can get their work done at home, there almost certainly also doing extra work, 15 more minutes here, 30 more minutes there, because they’re already at home. Spending a few more minutes isn’t going to get them stuck in worse traffic. It’s not going to mean their 7 year old is home alone. They won’t be late for dinner.
The only people who lose in a remote work paradigm are the people who spent their time wandering around “working” by dropping in on their direct reports. Surprise, it turns out we don’t actually need that!