• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
SuccessFuture of Work

Workers are gaining the upper hand in the WFH war

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 22, 2022, 8:00 AM ET
Man laughing and smiling on video conference
Hybrid work isn’t going anywhere; employees like it too much. 10'000 Hours—Getty Images

Love it or hate it, remote work is the way of the future.

A slew of recent research points to the case. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York declared Friday that remote work is “sticking,” based on findings from its August service-sector survey. It found that the percentage of manufacturing and service work performed remotely in the region is still well above pre-pandemic levels, at 7% and 20%, respectively. (Service industries centered on office work, like professional services, saw a much higher level of remote work than industries that work with customers face-to-face, such as hotels.) Firms expect these shares to look relatively the same in a year.

The findings align with broader remote work forecasts. The latest from Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis of WFH Research, released last week, finds that employers are continuing to increase the number of days they’ll let employees work from home post-pandemic, now at 2.4 days per week. Hybrid work dominates among workers able to work from home, the research finds.

It’s a sign that some employers are surrendering in the return-to-office battle, recognizing that they may be better off allowing employees to work from home. More than three-quarters (77%) of business leaders across industries said offering remote or hybrid work will be critical to talent attraction and retention going forward, according to commercial real estate firm JLL’s recent annual survey on the future of work.

“Our research confirms beyond doubt that the hybrid model is now a permanent feature of the working landscape,” it states, noting that 45% of companies didn’t offer a hybrid work option pre-pandemic—a stat that has since dropped to 9%. Of the nearly 1,100 decision-makers JLL surveyed, 53% said their organizations will make remote working permanently available to all employees by 2025.

Offering a remote option is becoming firmly cemented as a must-have instead of a nice-to-have, the research all suggests. That means workers have the power, in spite of the long-held resistance from big-name holdouts like Elon Musk and David Solomon.  

The case for remote work, even if it’s part-time

Neglecting to make remote work an option may cause many more problems than it would solve. Namely, it could vastly up a company’s turnover rate—no small risk, particularly during the Great Resignation, when job hopping is no longer considered a red flag and company loyalty has become archaic. 

Research finds hybrid work can cut quitting rates at a company. Just look at Spotify, which instituted a work-from-anywhere policy allowing employee to work from home, the office, or both; it led to a 15% reduction in turnover compared to 2019.  

“People want that flexibility and that freedom,” Katarina Berg, Spotify’s chief human resources officer, told Fortune. “If you decide that you trust your people, and you took a long time to find them, and you want to treat them well and they want to be with you, it doesn’t matter where they work. Work is something you do and not a place you come into. As soon as we cracked that code…it was quite easy to do this.”

Hybrid knowledge workers are more likely than full-remote or fully in-person workers to report feeling productive, engaged, and optimistic about their work. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of hybrid workers said they felt a strong connection with their peers in a study by workplace software firm Citrix. That dropped to 63% and to 60% for in-office workers and remote workers, respectively.

“The rules of work have been fundamentally rewritten,” Traci Palmer, vice president of people and organization capability at Citrix, said in the study. “As our research makes clear, employees today prefer hybrid work, and perform better when given the flexibility to choose their location based on what they need to get done and where they feel they work best.”

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

Professor Jeff DeGraff.
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
‘We’ve given them the short end of the stick’: Business school dean says AI could eliminate many jobs for young people—even as they lead innovation
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
52 minutes ago
Arvind Jain, Founder and CEO, Glean
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
While other tech CEOs warn of mass job losses, Glean’s chief says AI will never replace a single worker
By Emma BurleighMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago
Shaquille O'Neal
SuccessEducation
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: ‘Your character will take you further than your resume’
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
5 hours ago
Svenja Gudell, Chief Economist, Indeed
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
Indeed chief economist says the sectors most exposed to AI are seeing a big growth in job demand
By Emma BurleighMay 19, 2026
23 hours ago
Tom Brady wearing commencement regalia behind a podium at Georgetown University
SuccessCareers
Tom Brady tells Gen Z to treat their careers like the Super Bowl: ‘You may only get one chance to impress your boss or land a promotion’
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
$30 billion Twilio CEO wakes at 4:30 a.m., works Sundays and runs laps around his house between meetings to blow off steam
SuccessDay in the Life of a CEO
$30 billion Twilio CEO wakes at 4:30 a.m., works Sundays and runs laps around his house between meetings to blow off steam
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 19, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
23 hours ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
CNN analyst and 'The Morning Show' producer says Stephen Colbert is a role model for his ‘positive’ outlook on his show ending
Arts & Entertainment
CNN analyst and 'The Morning Show' producer says Stephen Colbert is a role model for his ‘positive’ outlook on his show ending
By Emma BurleighMay 19, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.