How are Employees Feeling about Remote vs. In-Office vs. Hybrid Working?

With concerns about meeting co-workers in person mainly gone as the pandemic subsides, companies are deciding whether to ask employees to return to the office full-time, allow them to remain exclusively remote, or opt for a hybrid model.

The discussion around remote vs. in-office vs. hybrid working often focuses on companies and what upper-level management wants. However, businesses should really be looking at their employee’s preferences and what top talent in the recruitment market prefers.

This article will cover some of the primary pros and cons of the three work models from an employee’s point of view. It will also outline what the majority of employees in the work market prefer to help you choose the best option to keep your current team satisfied and increase your chances of attracting new high-quality team members.

What Work Model are Companies Choosing Post-Pandemic?

The move to remote work during the pandemic has undoubtedly led to an increase in companies switching to a full-time remote model, with no intentions of returning to the office. The number of full-time remote employees in the US has tripled since the beginning of the pandemic, with many other companies opting for a hybrid model instead of returning to the office full-time. 

Interestingly, small businesses (ten to 50 employees) are more frequently requesting a return to the office, or using a hybrid model, compared to larger enterprises. Around 40% of small companies have asked employees to return to the office. That’s compared to about 27% of larger enterprises.

While management may want employees back in the office full-time, the benefits of workplace flexibility, including flexibility on where to work, must be considered. Ignoring the needs of staff who wish to work remotely or hybrid could have major repercussions for businesses, notably by increasing turnover rates and negatively affecting ability to attract top talent.

Moving to a remote model during the pandemic has become permanent for many companies.

Remote vs. In-Office vs. Hybrid Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits of Remote Work for Employees

1. Can Create the Perfect Work Environment with Fewer Work-Based Distractions

When working from home, employees can set up their office how they like. They also won’t have in-office distractions to deal with, like office chatting, people asking questions that stop them from working, meetings randomly being called, and the like.

By having fewer distractions and an optimized workspace, employees can focus on their tasks as best as possible.

2. More Autonomy

Another thing to consider when comparing remote vs. in-office vs. hybrid working is how much autonomy employees have over their work in each setting. In many cases, those working from home have more autonomy than those working hybrid or full-time in the office. 

Remotely, employees are left to complete tasks and communicate within teams with less oversight from higher-ups. This more autonomous setup allows employees to feel like they own their output, improving productivity and quality of work.

Unfortunately, some managers micromanage more when employees are working from home. If this happens, remote work can become less appealing to employees and lead to burnout.

3. Higher Productivity

Many employees, and their employers, report higher productivity when working from home. A lack of distractions and the ability to put one hundred percent of their focus on tasks and projects makes efficiency and productivity increase.

4. Freedom to Effectively Work from Anywhere

Remote work generally offers flexibility on where employees work from, meaning they can travel and work or move to an area with a lower cost of living. This fact appeals to many, especially those that could save money by moving to a more affordable area. Moving can also come with other benefits, such as living somewhere quieter than business and office hubs like large cities.

5. No Need to Commute

Most employees would have been commuting a decent way to the office. Removing this commute both ways every day saves both time and money for the employee. This additional time can be used for personal activities, improving work-life balance and increasing employee morale.

Drawbacks of Remote Work for Employees 

1. Work-Life Balance Issues

In some cases, working from home can improve work-life balance as employees have more free time due to not commuting and potentially having a flexible schedule. However, many employees see the opposite, with the lines between work and personal life blurring when working from home.

For example, many employees find it difficult to switch off at the end of their daily or weekly hours and continue to work past when they would have left a physical office space. If employees don’t have a dedicated room for a home office, this can also affect work-life balance, as your home space always feels like a workspace.

2. At-Home Distractions

While distractions common to an office will be mostly eliminated while working from home, employees may have to deal with personal distractions. These distractions include those made by roommates or partners who are working remotely or at home during the workday. 

In addition, employees may be distracted by their children when working from home, whether they’re watching them during the work day or not. Luckily, there are many ways to minimize personal distractions, for example, by implementing tactics to make working at home with children easy. 

3. Poor Work Space Setup

One of the benefits of working in-office is that employees have an ergonomic workstation, including a desk, chair, and computer monitor. They additionally have access to office resources, like a printer. The office environment is also geared one hundred percent to work. 

However, many employees can’t create that kind of setup at home, especially if they don’t have a dedicated space for an office. A poor workspace can affect productivity and motivation for some employees. Again, this issue is easy to resolve, and there are many ways to optimize your living space for remote work.

4. Loss of Workplace Contact

Isolation due to no in-person contact during the workdays is another issue many employees note when working exclusively from home. In addition, it can be challenging to build bonds with team members, especially for new employees that join the team.

Lastly, networking opportunities may decrease as a result of working at home, especially if employees work far from the company’s headquarters and can’t attend events frequently.

5. Scheduling Difficulties

Another problem some employees face when working from home is scheduling meetings. Coordinating meetings or working on projects when you can’t talk to coworkers in person can be challenging. Dealing with small issues can also take more time and effort than when in office.

Some issues employees may experience working at home include poor office setup and home distractions.

Benefits of Hybrid Work for Employees

1. Employees Effectively Get the “Best of Both Worlds”

When discussing remote vs. in-office vs. hybrid working, hybrid work often comes out on top as it offers something for everyone. Hybrid work models allow for complete flexibility and ensure everyone on the team can have the setup they want.

Employees can work from home with complete focus and no office distractions when needed. However, they can also go to the office when suited. For example, if they want to get away from increased distractions at home one day a week or employees will be most efficient collaborating in person, the option is there. 

2. Increased Opportunities for Effective Team Building

A hybrid work setup can help with team building as employees have opportunities to work with team members in person. Additionally, the team will likely be in a similar geographic location when working hybrid. Therefore, in-person events can be held, like team lunches, and networking is likely to be easier.

3. Access to a Space Away from Home Distractions

As discussed earlier, remote working can come with at-home distractions, such as being distracted by children or a partner. If employees know that there may be distractions at home, for example, if their children have a day off school, they have access to a perfect work environment (the company office, where they can work without any distractions.

If working at home only, employees would possibly have to go somewhere else to work, like a coffee shop, which isn’t set up for working in the way an office is.

4. Collaboration Can Be Easier

Having a space where all employees can go to collaborate is useful to many teams. With an office space still available, staff have a base to meet up at should they need to work together on a project, have an in-depth meeting, and the like.

This is especially useful for meetings or projects involving multiple team members, as it may be more difficult to communicate effectively via video or a workplace messaging system when multiple team members are involved.

5. Access to Certain Tools and Resources

While many companies have done their best to provide all resources employees need when working at home, there may be certain things employees need that they can only get at the office. If this is the case, keeping an office space that houses these resources means that employees always have access to them, even if they only need them once in a while.

Hybrid employees have a high degree of flexibility and can choose the best work environment for them.

Drawbacks of Hybrid Work for Employees

1. Challenges Keeping up With In-Office vs. At-Home Schedules

Unless companies set out the same hybrid schedule for every employee (for example, everyone in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays), keeping up with who is in the office and who is at home can get confusing, especially in large companies. 

Employees may find that it takes more time to arrange meetings due to determining if everyone will be in the office or if some team members need to be conferenced in via video call. Luckily, setting up an easy-to-use calendar system can help, allowing all employees to know where their co-workers are working from at any given time.

2. Cliques Can Form Based on When and Where Team Members Work

Another potential issue with hybrid work is that cliques can form, or certain team members have more time with higher-ups, leading to more opportunities.

For example, if higher-ups almost always work in the office, those that frequently go to the office or have a hybrid schedule mirroring management have more of a chance to build bonds and show their worth to those in a position of power.

This issue will only occur if schedules vary. If all team members follow the same in-office vs. at-home schedule, this shouldn’t be a concern.

3. Hybrid Can Develop into Being Back in the Office Full Time

If the company doesn’t set specific schedules for when people are in the office or working at home and they leave it to employee discretion, employees may begin to feel the need to be in the office at all times. When working remotely, employees may miss out on opportunities or impromptu meetings and discussions in the office.

The chance of hybrid employees feeling the need to always be in the office will increase if higher-ups are always or predominantly in the office, as discussed above. If this is the case, hybrid working could quickly turn into all or most employees being back in the office full-time.

Benefits of In-Office Work for Employees

1. Ease of Communication and Collaboration

Teams that like to or need to collaborate in person will find working full-time in the office the best option. Communication is often easier for some when they can always talk in person in the office. 

Being in the office at all times means that impromptu meetings can be held more easily and small questions can often be answered right away instead of waiting for a reply via email or workplace messaging software.

2. Employees Have Access to an Ergonomic Work Setup

As previously discussed, many employees who work at home don’t have a dedicated space for work or an ergonomic workplace setup. When all employees are in the office, this is almost guaranteed and at no cost.

3. Increased Team Building Opportunities

Teams that work in-office full time may build better bonds with their teams. Working in-person side by side every day builds relationships, and employees get to know each other better in both a professional and personal sense. 

It’s also easy to plan team-building events, and increased human interaction can lower feelings of isolation that may occur when working at home. This benefit of team bonding is especially important for new employees who can feel less loyal to teams and companies they’ve never met in person.

4. Easier to Stay on Top of Company Activity

If everyone is in the office, employees may have a better time keeping up to date with happenings in their department and the company as a whole. It’s easier to loop in employees and get a sense of what is going on based on workplace discussions. 

However, if companies implement effective remote communication and are open and transparent with employees, it should be easy for all staff to be aware of company activity without needing to be in the office. 

Team building, collaboration, and communication may be easier in the office.

Drawbacks of In-Office Work for Employees

1. High Commuting Time and Cost

A primary issue for employees with in-office work, especially full-time in-office work, is commuting time and cost. Most employees need to commute a decent way to work, taking up free time that could be used to improve work-life balance.

Commuting almost always carries a cost as well, from the cost of gas to public transport tickets. Moving to remote work and removing the commute may even lead to some staff getting rid of their vehicle altogether, eliminating more major costs, such as insurance and maintenance.

In addition, commuting conditions, such as being stuck in traffic frequently or on crowded public transport, can affect personal mental health, which affects workplace morale and productivity as well.

2. Less Flexibility

Generally, full-time in-office working offers less flexibility. This issue can lead to lower productivity and even high turnover rates as employees leave to move to companies offering more flexibility in the form of remote or hybrid models. 

3. More Distractions and Disruption of Work Concentration

In-office work comes with a lot of distractions. The vast majority of employees don’t have their own office space but instead work in an open-plan space with coworkers. This means that there are distractions, such as overhearing conversations and phone calls. 

It’s also easier to interrupt workflow by going to employees’ desks to ask questions or calling impromptu meetings. Once employees lose focus, it can take time to get the same level of focus back, causing overall productivity drops. 

At home, staff may be able to eliminate external distractions and can focus one hundred percent on tasks to complete them as quickly and to as high a quality level as possible.

4. Micromanaging is More Likely 

When higher-level staff work in the same space as employees, micromanaging can become much more likely. Micromanaging is never a good management strategy and leads to morale drops, loss of company loyalty, and burnout.

Remote setups can lead to micromanaging; however, micromanaging is less likely to occur than in an office environment. When working remotely, it's also more challenging for managers to actively micromanage, for example, by frequently going to an employee's desk or calling them into their office.

If employees have had bad experiences with micromanaging at their current job or a past one, escaping the possibility of this management style occurring by working remotely vs. in-office will be very appealing.

5. A Higher Chance of Burnout

The above cons to full-time in-office working could all result in burnout. A loss of free time and flexibility, a lack of autonomy over work and ability to focus, plus the potential of micromanaging, are highly likely to put stress on workers, reducing motivation and morale and potentially leading to burnout.

Burnout and drops in motivation and morale are bad for employees and companies as they result in lower productivity levels, stress, and high turnover rates.

What Work Model Do Employees Prefer?

After discussing the pros and cons of remote vs. in-office vs. hybrid working, which model do employees actually prefer? 

Ultimately, each employee’s preference will vary based on their personality, at-home situation, commute times to the office, role and industry, and many other factors. However, it seems that the preference among employees is for remote or hybrid work. This preference is especially true among younger generations of workers (Millennials and Gen Z).

An Owl Labs State of Remote Work in 2022 study found that two-thirds of employees would quit their job if the option to work remotely was taken away. Many of those workers would even take a small pay cut at a new job of five to ten percent if that opportunity allows them to work remotely. 

That same survey shows that 62% of workers feel more productive when working from home and that interest in remote work has increased by 24% since 2021 and hybrid by 16%. Conversely, interest in in-office work has dropped by around 24%.

When looking at hybrid work, the Owl Labs study shows that half of employees think that management views those who work in the office to be harder working than those who work at home. Despite the truth about productivity generally being the opposite, employees on a hybrid model may be more likely to return to the office full-time due to this perception by management, especially if they want to move up in the company.

Which Model Should Your Company Choose? 

As mentioned, preference will come down to each individual employee. However, management should keep in mind that while some staff will go with whatever model is suggested, it’s proven that many employees will change jobs if they can’t work in their desired environment. The employees you lose will most likely be your highest-performing staff as they will be in demand at other companies. 

If you want to keep your top employees and avoid a high turnover rate over the next few years, discussing remote vs. in-office vs. hybrid working with your team and being flexible with what they want will go a long way, saving the company time and money and boosting employee morale and productivity.