During the pandemic, most companies quickly figured out how to have employees work from home in order to comply with lockdowns. Employees often went above and beyond while working from home to make sure the company, and their jobs, remained viable during this unprecedented period.

Some companies responded by leaning in and offering a work from anywhere environment. Many employees moved to where the cost of living was less or to be closer to family members and business continued.

Return to the office

Then, at the beginning of 2023, some companies, including Disney, Starbucks and Activision Blizzard changed their mind about work from anywhere and alerted their employees to the upcoming policy changes.

Anecdotal evidence suggested that good employees were jumping ship when required to return to their office, especially in the area of software development.

Employees vote with their feet

There is now research to back up that anecdotal evidence. The Flex Index, released on July 18, shows that companies with flexible work policies are growing faster than companies with strict return-to-office policies. This is a large study with over 4500 companies with 30,000 locations and more than one million employees, done in collaboration with People Data Labs.

“It seems pretty clear that the companies that are full-time in-office are having a harder time attracting talent than the companies that offer some level of flexibility,” says Rob Sadow, CEO and co-founder of Scoop, the technology company that publishes the report.

Companies with fully remote work or hybrid with 2 or more days of remote work saw the biggest gains in headcount growth.

Headcount growth doesn’t necessarily correlate with the financial health of the company, it should be noted. However, since we seem to have dodged a recession and unemployment is at historic lows, Sadow indicates that the companies that are successfully hiring new employees are also the companies that are growing financially.

Remote work is here to stay

The future of work will continue to include remote and flexible work options. Employees are demanding it as a way to create better work-life balance. With a current unemployment rate of 3.5%, job candidates hold the cards, and flexible work is second only to compensation for many job seekers.

Regardless of where your company has come down on the return-to-office debate, hiring the right talent is critical for the continued success of the business. Consider building a relationship with a talent acquisition specialist to lend an expert hand to your hiring team. A specialist will know what job seekers are looking for in a compensation package and will have access to talent pools that your hiring team might not know about. Helping you attract and retain the right talent is their goal.