This article describes some challenges for both those who want to return to the office and those who would rather work from home.

The ongoing tug of war between remote employees (who are feeling more productive and less burnt out) and their employers (who are feeling bad about paying for an office) could experience a balance shift in 2023. Major companies, aware of fears about a potential recession, are issuing directives to come into the office for more days, sometimes under the threat of termination.

Last week, Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid staff that, starting on March 1, they must return to the office four days a week. Two days later, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced a similar three-day RTO requirement, expressing irritation at internal badge swipe data that revealed employees were not “meeting their minimum promise” regarding hybrid work.

Employees at Vanguard, Paycom, and News Corp have also received recent orders to phase out remote work in the new year. A survey from Resume Builder found that 90% of companies will require a return to the office this year, signaling a shift away from the softly enforced hybrid policies that became popular during the pandemic.

A controversial resolution

That doesn’t mean employees are excited to add commute time or “getting asked about weekend plans” back into their lives: According to a recent Gallup poll, 34% of remote-capable workers want to work from home permanently and just 3% want to work in the office full time. A Monster survey in September found that 40% of workers would quit if they had to come into the office even one day a week.

But there’s an issue with that: Remote work is getting hard to find. Between February and October 2022, remote job listings fell from 20% to 14% of all listings on LinkedIn. Now, even more employers seem empowered to demand in-office time.

Remote hope is not lost: On the flip side, Twitter CEO and vocal remote work critic Elon Musk recently ordered Seattle employees to WFH as a cost-cutting measure.—MK