The return to office wars are far from over: Half of workers say they’d job hunt or quit to avoid 5 days a week

(Credit: VioletaStoimenova—Getty images)

Almost five years after the COVID-19 pandemic normalized remote work, many employees are continuing to push back against their bosses’ attempt to pull them in the office five days a week. As companies like Amazon begin demanding fully in-person work, employees who still have the semblance of hybrid or flexible work are seemingly clinging onto it more than ever.

So finds WFH Research, a research group led by Stanford professors Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis, and Shelby Buckman, in its latest report. Surveying attitudes towards remote work since the spike in working from home during the lockdown (May 2020), the authors find that the office tug of war between bosses and employees is far from over. In fact, it appears workers are becoming even less amenable to RTO compared to a couple of years ago.