How Flexible Work Is Changing

🚨Flex work isn't fading. But the gap between policy and reality is widening. Leaders of distributed teams - take note. The latest Flex Index report gives data-driven insights to reveal what’s really going on. Here’s what you need to know: 📊 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺. 67% of U.S. companies still offer work location flexibility.  “Structured Hybrid” leads at 43%, while only 33% are mandating full-time in-office work. 🏢 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 35% of firms with 500-5,000 employees require full-time in-office. Yet 70% of companies with <500 employees remain Fully Flexible. 📅 𝗜𝗻-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽. On average, required office days went from 2.49 to 2.82 over the past year. 📈 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Companies say they want people in office more (+10% vs Q1 2024), but actual attendance? It’s barely moved (< +2%). 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀? 👉 Being in the office doesn’t mean being connected - you are likely still working with people in other locations. 👉 Structured hybrid requires structured leadership development - not just policy. 👉 Culture and collaboration don’t follow mandates. They follow skills. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛? Instead of focusing energy on “getting people back to the office”… What if we invested in upskilling people to work better from wherever they are on any given day?   📉 Global Workplace Analytics research shows that only 23% of companies have provided training on the skills and best practices to work effectively in hybrid, distributed, and remote environments.   It’s time to build a new leadership muscle... 𝗢𝗺𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 - the ability to be equally effective at communicating, connecting, collaborating, and influencing when: ✅ Fully in-person ✅ In a hybrid setting (either in the location majority or location minority) ✅ Fully remote And being able to transition between modes, even within a single day! (check out the comments for more on this concept)   𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴? 🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗤𝟮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘅 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: https://lnkd.in/ehr3H-YD Note: Flex Index is now under the trusted stewardship of my colleague and future of work expert, Brian Elliott! 

Many workers resist returning to the office. They face long commutes and crowded traffic. Once there, they barely interact with anyone. Return-to-office (RTO) mandates are failing. They hurt employee retention. The workplace is changing fast. In 2025, companies want workers back in the office. Yet, many employees push back. Hybrid work is still the main setup, but fully remote jobs are fading. Here are the key trends shaping the future of work: 1. Mandate Reality  87% of companies now have RTO policies. 70% require workers to be in the office at set times. Only 33% demand full-time attendance, but this number is growing. 2. Hybrid Dominance A 3-day office week is now standard. 38% of companies have clear hybrid plans that show when employees need to be present. 3. Remote Work Decline  The fully remote option is disappearing. Only 7% of companies offer it, down from 21% last year. Flexible schedules have dropped from 39% to 28%. 4. Employee Resistance  Workers are unhappy with these changes. Less than half of Americans support more in-person work. 70% of remote and hybrid workers would look for other jobs if forced back full-time. Only 44% would comply with a 5-day mandate; 55% would rather job hunt or quit. 5. Financial Impacts Nearly half of hybrid and remote workers would accept an 8% pay cut to keep remote work. Those who commute spend over $51 daily when in the office. 6. Talent Consequences   Companies face real costs. 8 in 10 report losing talent because of their RTO policies. 7. Industry & Regional Variations Industries like finance and legal push RTO mandates the hardest. Office attendance varies by location. Miami and NYC are back to 90% of pre-pandemic levels, while San Francisco is at just 50%. Big companies like Amazon, JPMorgan, and Google have strict RTO policies. They tie office attendance to performance reviews and career growth. The federal government has also acted, ending most telework for federal employees. 2025 is a turning point in the work location debate. Even with more mandates, hybrid work remains the main model. Companies must balance the need for collaboration with the risk of losing talent to more flexible competitors. The future of work is still up for debate, with big differences across regions and industries. I've been a remote employee for 8 years. I personally prefer hybrid where I can get out some days, spend some time in an office environment and flex from home when needed. Which do you prefer?

Flexibility isn’t a trend. It’s the new baseline. 68% of US companies now offer flexible work policies. And productivity gains are real, not hypothetical. Brian Elliott’s report shows that flexibility is driving retention, performance, and resilience at scale. Structured hybrid is growing fast, 3 days a week is the new norm, and companies clinging to old models are falling behind. Here are 5 critical signals People and Workplace leaders should act on: 1. RTO mandates aren’t delivering results. Only 8 percent of CEOs plan to increase RTO in 2025. Because the data is clear: mandates drive disengagement and attrition. In industries with mandates, 71 percent report retention issues versus 46 percent without. Companies pushing blanket RTO are paying for it with top talent. 2. Structured hybrid is the new default. The percentage of firms requiring 3 days a week jumped from 19 to 28 percent in 2024. 81 percent of hybrid firms use “minimum number of days” policies. Structured flexibility is now the most common model across large firms. Most workers want hybrid. Most leaders are adapting to meet that demand. 3. Flexibility fuels performance and culture. Productivity gains of 4 to 12 percent have been documented across large studies. Attrition drops by up to 33 percent with hybrid. Flexible workers report stronger connection to culture and higher focus. The most innovative teams are working differently and reaping the benefits. 4. Managers are key to making flexibility work. Employees who trust their manager are 2.5x more likely to thrive in hybrid. Yet only 1 in 3 workers say their manager has been trained for flexible work. Without manager support, even the best hybrid policy fails to drive outcomes. The gap between policy and experience is a manager capability problem. 5. Executive mindsets are finally shifting. Only 8 percent of executives believe RTO improves productivity. Even CEOs who initially favored full return are now embracing structured flexibility. Boards are asking better questions about outcomes, not occupancy. The most future-ready leaders are changing what they measure and reward. The takeaway: The future of work isn’t five days in-office or full autonomy. It’s intentional flexibility. The best organizations are scaling trust, clarity, and performance, not space. Check the comments for Brian Elliott’s full report. What part of your flexible work strategy needs the most investment in 2025? #FutureOfWork #PeopleAnalytics #WorkplaceStrategy #EmployeeExperience #HRAnalytics