Nearly Half Of Workers Will Consider A Job Change If Ordered Back To The Office, Survey Finds

Posted by Admin January 17, 2025 Jobs

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Topline

As more companies mandate a full return to office, many hybrid and remote employees in the United States are prepared to look for a new job to continue working from home, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center.

As more companies mandate a full return to office, many hybrid and remote employees in the United … [+] States are prepared to look for a new job to continue working from home.

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Key Facts

Nearly half (46%) of workers said they would consider leaving their job rather than return to full-time, in-office work if their current employer were to eliminate work-from-home options.

Currently, 75% of the respondents have a flexible work arrangement, either working fully from home or adopting a hybrid model that includes some remote work days.

In the debate over return-to-office policies, women show a slightly higher propensity (49%) to seek new employment compared to men (43%).

Younger workers—under 50—demonstrate a significantly higher willingness to change jobs (50%) if remote work is eliminated than their older counterpart (35%).

Fully remote workers are more adamant about maintaining their work-from-home status (61%) compared to those with hybrid (47%) or occasional remote work arrangements (28%).

Employees with low job satisfaction are more prone to considering job changes if remote work options are eliminated.

Big Number

Despite workers’ strong preference for remote work, finding a new job with remote flexibility may prove challenging. A recent Resume Builder survey reveals a stark workplace trend: 87% of companies are expected to mandate full office returns by 2025.

News Peg

Employees are actively challenging corporate policies demanding for in-person work. JPMorgan’s recent mandate for a full-time return to office, set to begin in March 2025, has sparked significant employee backlash. The announcement was met with a flood of negative comments on the company’s internal communication platform, prompting the bank to disable the comment section within hours due to high traffic, the Wall Street Journal reported. Employees expressed concerns about increased commuting costs, childcare difficulties and disruptions to work-life balance. One employee reportedly suggested unionization as a potential response to the new policy, mirroring recent unionization efforts at Wells Fargo. Similarly, Amazon has faced resistance from its workforce. In 2024, over 500 Amazon Web Services employees formally challenged the company’s return-to-office policy by sending a letter to CEO Matt Garman. The workers strongly criticized the mandate, expressing their frustration with what they perceived as an inadequate, unsubstantiated rationale for the policy change. The employees specifically described the explanation for the return-to-office directive as “non-data-driven,” suggesting the policy lacked empirical support. Their letter included personal narratives highlighting potential hardships, such as extensive commute times and family obligations that would be disrupted by the mandatory in-office work requirement.

Chief Critic

Bucking the trend of other major companies pushing for office returns, Spotify is maintaining its flexible work-from-anywhere policy. The company reports no decrease in productivity or efficiency since implementing its distributed work model. Katarina Berg, chief human resources officer at Spotify, told Raconteur in October, “We are a business that’s been digital from birth, so why shouldn’t we give our people flexibility and freedom?” Berg defines work as an activity rather than a location, acknowledging collaboration challenges in virtual settings but rejecting the idea of forcing office returns.