Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the articles published by media outlets have focused on the remote work phenomenon as a symptom of the new times and speculated that this trend would only grow stronger over time.

However, the current situation in different parts of the world suggests that there is no one-single model applicable to all companies, and that a hybrid format tailored to meet specific needs with limited in-person attendance is gaining ground.

The discussion is well underway. Countries like the United States and Spain have led the debate. For example, while around 5% of workers in Spain worked remotely in 2019, this figure shot up to 34% during the first months of the pandemic. But now that more than 70% of the Spanish population is fully vaccinated, many companies are planning to return to in-person work, albeit with mixed models.

• There are municipalities that have already decided. For example, all civil servants at the Generalitat Valenciana will no longer be able to telework as part of the Covid-19 prevention measures. On October 16 they will have to return to full-time physical attendance, as per a resolution by the Conselleria de Justicia, Interior y Administración Pública (Department of Justice, Interior and Public Administration) that ends the exceptional measures approved for the pandemic. The idea is to start returning to normality, as will also be happening in the private sector and other public settings, like primary care centers that will be back to in-person care in October.
• According to the Health Department’s resolution, “recent evidence shows that vaccinations, while not eliminating the possibility of contagion, do provide the vast majority of vaccinated people with good protection against serious disease and hospitalization, and are effective in preventing asymptomatic infection and transmission of the disease to other people.” Despite this “favorable evolution” scenario, the government will have to continue preventive occupational health and safety measures based on the criteria, guidelines and recommendations set by the health authorities and the applicable occupational risk-prevention measures.

How have they done it? Since the restrictions were relaxed, numerous companies that had been teleworking due to the pandemic have retrenched and returned to face-to-face mode or created a hybrid model.

• According to Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) latest report, 65% of companies would like to offer a hybrid model starting in 2025, which would include some days of remote work. And 25% of these companies intend to offer four days of telecommuting work a week.
• Another study by Jobtatus, a well-known employment portal in Spain, reports that 94% of the respondents would opt for a hybrid model, and only 13% of those surveyed believe that their work performance is improved by being present at the office every day of the week. The main reason why workers prefer a hybrid model is family work-life balance. According to this same study, 71% of the companies surveyed (13,850) plan to implement a hybrid work model from September onwards.
• Telefónica is another company that has decided to return to face-to-face office work and has ended rotating shifts. They are currently using a 60% remote work schedule, and offices are staffed at 50% of in person capacity. In practice, in most cases this means three days of teleworking and two full days in the office or more if the employee chooses to spread the 40% of office-days over a longer period.
• A study on the future of teleworking by LinkedIn found that 40% of Spaniards prefer a hybrid work model, which combines face-to-face and remote work. Thirty-five percent of the 1,009 people surveyed for this study advocated for a return to full-time face-to-face work, while one in four respondents is in favor of teleworking.

The trend in the Unites States.  Workplace ISS recently put together a day of debate and reflection with representatives from companies including Amazon, Reale, Indra, Bankinter and Repsol and among the conclusions was “while remote work has worked during a time of extreme need and has many advantages, it cannot replace face-to-face work or the relationships and synergies that are created within the same physical space.”

Nonetheless, after the exercise, the ISS experts also reflected that, “it’s  best not to take hasty measures or force people to leave behind habits they have adapted to for months, and which for many have been beneficial, especially in terms of work-life balance.”

• Google had planned a return to the office for September and October, but, like Apple or Amazon, has decided to again extend this period.
• Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s Alphabet subsidiary, has already told his employees that they will have the option of teleworking or returning to the office on a voluntary basis until January 2022, due to the uncertainty from spikes in Covid-19 cases due to the Delta variant. “Starting January 10, we will allow countries or regions to decide when and under what conditions to end voluntary telework,” he explained in an e-mail to workers, in which he also noted that the changes will be communicated 30 days in advance for planning purposes.
• In light of the impact they have on management teams from other companies, there is speculation that it will be the technology companies that set the pace regarding return to the office. “The next steps taken by those companies could determine how and where people work in the future,” says Laura Boudreau, an assistant professor of economics at Columbia University who studies all workplace related matters.
• Because they generally deal with digital products, the lion’s shares of tech sector jobs are tailor-made for telecommuting. Most tech companies seem insistent that their staffs will have to report to the office two to three days a week when the pandemic ends.
• The main reason is that technology firms have always maintained that being in the office generates a team spirit that sparks new ideas and innovations, which probably would not have happened if everyone worked in isolation. One of the reason these companies have invested billions of dollars in offices full of employee perks and benefits is precisely to encourage them to get out of their cubicles and engage in idea-generating conversations.
• Even Zoom, whose revenues and stock price went through the roof during the pandemic, says most of its employees prefer to work in the office a few days a week. “This is why there is still no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to returning to the office,” writes Kelly Steckelberg, Zoom’s CFO, in a recent blog.