Just 6 out of 158 U.S. CEOs said they’ll prioritize bringing workers back to the office full-time in 2024, according to a new survey released by the Conference Board.
Why it matters: Executives are increasingly resigned to a world where employees don’t come in every day, as hybrid work arrangements — mixing work from home and in-office — become the norm for knowledge workers.
Zoom in: “Maintain hybrid work,” was cited as a priority by 27% of the U.S. CEOs who responded to the survey, conducted in October and November.
- A separate survey of chief financial officers by Deloitte, conducted in November, found that 65% of CFOs expect their company to offer a hybrid arrangement this year.
State of play: “Remote work appears likely to be the most persistent economic legacy of the pandemic,” write Goldman Sachs economists in a recent note.
- About 20%-25% of workers in the U.S. work from home at least part of the week, according to data Goldman cites.
- That’s below a peak of 47% during the pandemic but well above its prior average of around 3%.
Right before the pandemic my company moved to a new office. It was an hour-long commute from my house (the previous office was a 15 minute walk), located downtown next to a homeless shelter and an abandoned casino, with an open-office concept (the previous office had many enclosed rooms, though we did share them), and the kitchen had a commissary where we could buy snacks. The executive was very proud of the new digs and spent a fortune on the decor.
I considered it a huge downgrade. The millions of deaths and long-Covid cases aside, Covid-19 was pretty awesome.