Seven out of 10 companies have formal RTO policies requiring some in-office time. A surprising 93% of business leaders believe being in the office is necessary. Fully flexible setups (remote or employee's choice) dropped from 39% of jobs to 28% between 2023 and 2024. Only 7% of companies allow fully remote work in 2025, down from 21% in 2024. While 44% of employees say they'd comply with a 5-day office mandate, 41% would start looking for other work, and 14% would quit.
It is clear that many employees are not exactly pleased about the return-to-office (RTO) concept. Remote work was a demonstration of trust on both sides, and for the most part, employees delivered, keeping businesses running through a pandemic and beyond. But at legacy automaker Ford (F), the natives are getting downright restless, as illustrated by a recent hack complete with obscene messaging about RTO. Investors proved oddly pleased by this development, though, and sent shares up around 3% in Friday afternoon's trading.