IS 2025 THE YEAR WORKERS WILL RETURN TO THE OFFICE?

Managers want to cut back on remote work, but many employees value flexibility.

- By SANDRA BLOCK

THIS is shaping up to be the year that thousands of U.S. workers will need to put away their soft pants and return to the office—at least for a couple of days a week.

A summer 2024 survey of chief executive officers by accounting firm KPMG found a sharp turnaround in views toward remote work. More than three-fourths of CEOs expect employees to return to a traditional in-office schedule within three years. Earlier in 2024, only one-third of CEOs predicted a return to an inoffice model. Only 17% of CEOs expect their employees to have a hybrid schedule, and just 4% expect their employees to be fully remote, according to the summer survey.

The news isn’t all bad for the comfy-pants crowd. Eighty-six percent of CEOs said they would reward employees who return to the office with favorable assignments, raises and promotions. And research by the Flex Index, a technology research firm based in San Francisco, found that while the number of companies that allow a fully flexible workforce has declined since 2023, the percentage of companies that use a hybrid model increased in 2024 (see the box at right).