How many companies now require their tech pros to return to the office at least a few days per week? And how many companies are maintaining their remote-work policies?
Those are critical questions for tech pros who want some degree of flexible scheduling in their current or future job. Blind, which surveys (anonymous) tech professionals on a variety of issues, has a new chart breaking down companies’ respective remote- and hybrid-work policies, along with the number of weekly “office days” and other data.
Blind’s full chart lists 883 companies (and growing), but we’ve selected some notable names for this excerpted chart:
What can we conclude from this Return to Office tracker? Many of the biggest names in tech—including tech giants and massive consulting firms—are asking their employees to return to the office for two or three days a week. If you work in spaceflight (SpaceX, Blue Origin) or vehicle manufacturing (Lucid Motors) or finance (Goldman Sachs), your chances of having to return to the office for five days per week seem to rise.
During the pandemic, companies everywhere embraced remote work as the future. In recent months, however, many executives have pivoted to argue that in-office work is better for corporate culture, morale, and project outcomes. “Teams tend to be better connected to one another when they see each other in person more frequently,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote in a Feb. 17 memo to employees. “There is something about being face-to-face with somebody, looking them in the eye, and seeing they’re fully immersed in whatever you’re discussing that bonds people together.”
That means companies (both giants like Amazon as well as smaller firms) have increasingly asked employees to return to the office at least two or three days per week. While it’s difficult (and often impossible) to maneuver around office policy, those tech pros who want to continue to work remotely—or at least give themselves a more flexible schedule than policy dictates—may have some room for negotiation if they can demonstrate how their remote work schedule will ultimately better serve the company’s interests.
If you’re applying for remote tech jobs, take the time and effort to avoid key mistakes that can sink your application in the early stages. For example, arrive at the job interview with lots of questions about how you can optimize your remote workflow to suit the company’s near- and long-term strategy.
As we progress into 2024, keep in mind that company policies around remote and hybrid work may continue to shift. Whether you want to work from home full-time or come into the office for two or three days per week, chances are good that a selection of desirable employers will meet your needs on that front.
