At the start of the pandemic, countless companies lauded their employees and credited their company culture for successful transitions to remote work, which was hailed as the future of the workplace.

What a difference a year makes.

Now that reopening is a distinct possibility, employers want employees back, and the latter aren’t having it. It’s causing tension at the highest levels of corporate America, like Amazon and Apple. While there are those who’ve wanted to be back in the office since COVID began, there are others who’ve developed a flexible schedule for themselves these past 15 months, and they’re not about to give it up.

In this episode of Promo Insiders, ASI Media executive editors Theresa Hegel and Sara Lavenduski discuss Hegel’s recent feature article on the return to the office, and how employees’ desire for flexibility is becoming a non-negotiable. In fact, says Hegel, a recent survey from FlexJobs found that nearly 60% of people currently working from home would quit their job if their employer required them to return to the office.

Podcast Chapters (only available on desktop)
1:25 Sectors that don’t favor WFH
4:30 Recent controversy
5:50 The impact on employee retention
7:05 The future of office space
7:50 an employee’s job market
10:05 What’s happening in promo?
12:30 What the workplace now looks like
15:45 How are companies handling vaccination policies?
18:08 Where do we go from here?

“In general, more traditional places like finance want everyone back in the office,” says Hegel. “They don’t like remote work, they think they can’t mentor people or impart company culture. They want people in their seats in the office.”

About half of promo companies have returned to the office fully, but industry leaders are increasingly open to hybrid options -- with a mix of in-office and WFH staff. #remotework #COVID19 #returntowork #promoproducts #ASIMediahttps://t.co/XPvlLsUPUI

— Theresa Hegel (@TheresaHegel) May 24, 2021

The “rah-rah” spirit from a year ago has certainly dissipated, says Hegel, but employees are holding tight to their newfound freedom to build in more flexibility and balance in their days, which is now no longer a coveted privilege based on job title or seniority. That’s the reality for virtually all industries, including promo.

“One person I talked to wasn’t even asking to be fully remote,” says Hegel. “He just wanted to have a couple days a week remote and his boss wanted him in full-time. He’s looking for another job now.”

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And with the employee’s job market we’re currently experiencing, where companies are struggling to incentivize enough applicants to fill their open positions, workers have plenty of options.

“There’s going to have to be more flexibility [in promo],” says Hegel. “If you want to attract and keep that top talent, you have to give them options. … Mid-tier people now want this same consideration.”