New Hires At Forefront Of Return-to-office Movement

Research shows that while the return-to-office push is cooling down, new hires are more likely to work in person. 

According to data published by Perceptyx, an employee listening and manager effectiveness platform, the overall proportion of employees working on-site has not changed substantially in the past two years. The company reports that in 2023 the percentage of new employees, or those with less than a year’s tenure, working from the office rose to 69% — up from 62% the previous year. This contrasts with the stable or even declining in-office presence among other employee groups.  

Emily Killham, Senior Director of People Analytics, Research & Insights at Perceptyx, suggests that while companies are not aggressively pushing existing staff back to the office, they may be subtly “phasing out remote and hybrid roles for new hires.”  

This trend is further supported by recent data from job platform Indeed, which showed an 18% decrease in job descriptions advertising remote and hybrid work between February 2022 and May 2023.  

Return-to-office data from 2023 suggests a gradual, rather than abrupt, transition back to traditional office environments for firms — primarily driven by updated policies for new hires. Even if some of these firms adopt a hybrid work policy, limiting remote work opportunities reflects a unique approach towards balancing flexible work perks and the perceived advantages of in-person collaboration.