The pandemic has accelerated trends in telework, as stay-at-home orders forced companies worldwide to adapt — and adapt fast. In the aftermath, many thought that remote work was here to stay. After all, research showed that productivity was good, employees were satisfied not having to commute and spend more time with their families, and profit was through the roof. But these expectations deflated quickly as the 2021 and 2022 tech bubbles burst and the labor market went from silent quitting to loud pleading.

According to a survey of 1,000 corporate decision-makers reported by Forbes, 9 out of 10 said they are in the process of going back to the office. Only 2% say their company never plans to require employees to return to work in person. More than one in four say they’ll fire workers who don’t comply with the new return-to-office policy.

Recent studies indicate that full-time remote workers are 10% to 20% less productive than their in-office counterparts. This productivity gap is attributed to challenges in communication, coordination, and self-motivation. Consequently, some companies are warning employees that failing to meet new in-office requirements could affect their performance evaluations and incomes.

However, things aren’t as clear as some corporate managers make them out to be. Research also highlights that employees on hybrid schedules — splitting time between home and the office — maintain productivity levels comparable to those who work on-site full-time. This suggests that a balanced approach might offer the best of both worlds.

Currently, about 30% of full-time employees work on a hybrid schedule. Companies adopting this model are seeing both financial and non-financial benefits. For example, firms offering more flexibility report better financial outcomes. The Flex Index, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, found that fully flexible firms experienced a 21% revenue growth from 2020 to 2022, significantly outpacing less flexible companies. For many companies, cost savings are a significant advantage of remote work. By reducing office space and related expenses, firms can save an estimated 10% on operating costs, according to Stanford University’s Nicholas Bloom.

“In early 2023, 50%-plus of companies were still sitting on the sidelines with no formal policy or specific work-from-home strategy,” Rob Sadow, a Flex Index co-founder, told the LA Times. “What’s happened through 2023 is that more and more companies decided to put a stake in the ground — and that’s hybrid.”

While there still seems to be some leniency concerning hybrid work, fully remote jobs seem to be shrinking with each quarter. During the first two years of the pandemic, workers swiftly adapted to remote work by setting up home offices, leveraging digital communication tools like Zoom and Slack, and learning about basic digital security like a VPN for Chrome (the most popular browser, with 65.31% of the global market share), and developing new routines to balance work and personal life.

VPN providers, in particular, have seen a business boom during the pandemic thanks to the sudden influx of remote workers, almost overnight. Remote workers need a VPN to ensure a secure and private connection to the internet, which protects their sensitive data from unauthorized access and cyberattacks.  

PNs encrypt online traffic, making it difficult for hackers and even government agencies to intercept or monitor activities. They also enable access to blocked websites and restricted content, which can be essential for business operations and accessing necessary information. Additionally, VPNs facilitate secure access to remote systems and company networks, allowing employees to maintain productivity and safeguard confidential information while working from home or in public locations. 

Many workers reported increased autonomy and job satisfaction, though they also faced challenges such as isolation, blurred boundaries between work and home life, and the need for self-discipline. Despite these challenges, the pandemic demonstrated that remote work is a viable and often effective alternative to traditional office-based work, leading to lasting changes in how and where people work.

However, the managers seem to have had enough — and this could eventually come back to bite them. Business Professor Mark Ma of the Univesity of Pittsburgh says his research found evidence that return-to-office mandates reduce employee satisfaction but don’t increase the bottom line. 

A recent report found that nearly all working professionals, about 95 percent, desire some form of remote work. Additionally, 63 percent of respondents indicated that remote work is the most important aspect of their job, surpassing even salary in importance.

“That morale boost leads to more employee engagement, which is a good way to keep experienced employees happy and motivated, ‘’ says Ma.  “It is expensive to hire and retrain new workers, ‘’ he adds.