A majority (70%) of U.S. workers who are fully remote or in a hybrid arrangement say they are very likely or somewhat likely to seek alternative employment if they are required to return to the office full time at their current salary, according to a survey from FTI Consulting.
The survey finds that a third of office workers are or would be excited about returning to the office, primarily due to increased productivity, camaraderie, and opportunities for collaboration. Of those that said they would accept an RTO mandate, 60% say they would appreciate the camaraderie and 53% say they are more productive when working in an office.
“We have all seen the headlines about the return-to-office mandates by some of the nation’s largest employers, with some companies reporting that they expect all of their workers, with few exceptions, to return to the office full time in 2025,” says Josh Herrenkohl, a senior management director in the real estate solutions practice at FTI Consulting. “But our research shows that their ability to implement this mandate is not cut-and-dry, and employers risk losing talent in RTO mandates are enforced. How employees feel about RTO involves many factors, including their industry, the size of their company, whether they have children, and the nature of their current work arrangement.”
The current work model appears to correlate with employees’ attitude towards working remotely or in the office. Of those who are currently fully remote, nearly half (45%) say that being able to work remotely or have the flexibility to work in a hybrid setting is one of the most important aspects of their employment. Similarly, 41% of current hybrid workers gave the same answer, while only 15% of current in-office workers prioritized the remote or hybrid work arrangement.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of fully remote workers say they are likely to seek employment at another company if they are required to return to the office full time, while 62% of hybrid workers made the same statement. Only 12% of those that are fully remote would not be willing to come into the office at all, but 38% say they would be excited to come back into the office.
Of those who are currently working remotely, 88% say they would be willing to work in the office for at least some portion of the week, with 33% indicating no more than two days, and 29% saying as many as three to four days a week. The top three most frequently cited important employment factors across the survey population were salary and benefits (73%), enjoying the work (56%), and health benefits (50%). The ability to work remotely or hybrid was the fifth most popular key factor (34%), right behind vacation/PTO (37%) and well ahead of career path/opportunity to advance (25%) and company culture (24%).
Geographically, employees in the Northeast (45%) and the South (45%) are most likely to seek alternative employment compared with those in the West (29%), if required to return to the office full time. Among Gen Z respondents, 42% said they would be excited and 33% would be accepting of a possible RTO mandate, compared to just 33% of Gen X respondents who said they were excited and 25% who said they would be accepting.
Baby boomers and older are least likely to seek alternative employment (31%) compared to millennials (45%) and Gen Z (45%), if required to return to the office full time. Workers with children under the age of 18 are more excited to return to the office than those without (41% vs. 31%).
