As everyone knows, remote work hit an all-time high during COVID – out of necessity. I wanted to do a 2025 update on this topic, to really get clear on what’s happening. An article published on March 25th by Rachel Cromidas on LinkedIn News covered this topic. According to the article, remote work is on the decline, while hybrid and in-office arrangements are increasing. One in three executives surveyed said they preferred their team to be onsite. Here are the stats: in October 2020, 46% of employees were remote, 12% were hybrid, and 39% were working on site. As of February 2025, just 26% of workers were fully remote, 16% have hybrid schedules, and 55% are onsite.  What Employers are Thinking About Remote Work -Many believe onsite work fosters stronger company culture, collaboration, and engagement; it enhances teamwork, communication, and a shared sense of mission. 79% of managers believe remote work has led to greater productivity, created happier employees. -At the same time, the majority of employers recognize that imposing return-to-office mandates often means losing talent, and typically they are the best talent because they know they have options. -Employers allowing remote or hybrid work have lower operational costs, such as reduced office space, and a broader talent pool that isn’t geographically restricted. -Only about 12% of executives with hybrid or remote workers plan a full return to office in the near future. - The belief is that remote work will expand in the next five years. -Challenges include managing compliance in multiple jurisdictions, ensuring equitable pay for geographically distributed teams, and the potential for a reduced sense of belonging for some employees. Ultimately, while some large organizations are pushing for more office days, the prevailing employer sentiment is that remote and hybrid work are now a permanent fixture in the work landscape, vital for talent attraction and retention, even as they continue to invest in strategies to maintain culture, collaboration, and career growth in this new context. Translated: Employees know that remote work, works – COVID proved that. Now employees are on to employers – they want a valid reason that their behinds need to be in a particular seat every work day. They also know that while remote work may not work for every job function in their company, it can absolutely work for many job functions – so the all-or-nothing approach is not cutting it with top talent.  What Employees Think About Remote Work These data come from multiple sources including Robert Half and Gallup: -Globally, about 91% of employees say they prefer to work fully or almost completely remote. In the U.S. about 22% of the workforce is remote, but the preference for flexibility is much higher. -83% of global works say a hybrid model is ideal; just 1% say being in-office full-time is ideal for them. -84% of employees feel more productive working away from the office; 74% say they are happier working remotely. Remote workers are more likely to remain in their positions compared to fully in-office employees. 79% of remote employees report lower stress. -Many employees say they would consider pay cuts to retain remote flexibility. -Gen Z employees are less likely to want fully remote work compared to older generations – collaboration is key here for early-career development. -Forcing a return to office is frequently linked to lower job satisfaction and higher turnover risk. Translated: Remote jobs DO still exist, but they aren’t as plentiful as during COVID.