According to Gallup, only 3.4% of the US workforce worked remotely prior to the pandemic. Fast forward into March, and major companies like Twitter have announced employees can work remotely indefinitely.
So can we expect a completely permanent transition to remote working in the near future? While the past few months has taught workers that there are indeed numerous benefits to working from home, there are still issues with a fully distributed workforce. Even companies like Amazon have plans to lease 100,000 square feet of space in Dallas, while Facebook recently closed on a 73,000 square foot deal in New York City. If anything, this indicates that companies are not ready to let go of the office.
There are various reasons why companies are deciding to continue utilizing physical offices at least for some workers, including building a healthy work culture, keeping employees collaborating with one another and engaging in proper communication.
In the future, we can expect companies to adopt both remote and in-person work arrangements in order to reap the benefits and allow employees to have more flexibility moving forward.