3 in 10 companies planning to phase out their remote work by 2026

  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           New feature! Listen to this article as a podcast 

The number of companies planning to increase in-office workdays and, if possible, eliminate the option for remote work is expected to rise significantly in 2026.

A recent survey conducted by the online portal Resume Builder found that 3 in 10 companies intend to phase out or completely ban remote work options in the coming year.

By 2025, 28% of the companies surveyed have mandated that the employees work in physical offices three days a week, 13% have mandated four days, while another 28% have ordered employees back to the office all five days of the week.

By 2026, many office workers can expect stricter requirements from their employers for in-person attendance at the company’s physical office.

Stricter RTO policies

"Several leaders claim to support hybrid work, but often call their employees back to the office because they are under pressure from above and old habits. They equate visibility with productivity and fear losing culture and collaboration,” Stacie Haller, Chief Career Advisor at ResumeBuilder.com, says.

"Leaders still say hybrid, but by that they often mean structured workdays rather than true flexibility. The result is a growing gap between management’s intentions and employee expectations, which damages trust in the workplace."

The joy of reunion can be profound and overwhelming, but not everywhere where companies call their employees in for several mandatory workdays at the office.                                                                                                                      Photos: StockCake

Overall, 13% of the 978 business leaders surveyed plan to increase the number of mandatory office days next year, while just 5% plan to reduce them, underscoring a move towards increasingly stringent return-to-office policies.

“If hiring declines or layoffs increase in 26, strict RTO policies could clash with broader labour market trends. Employees may comply in the short term, but dissatisfaction and turnover will inevitably increase when the market returns,” Stacie Haller comments. 

Culture and productivity

Companies that increase mandatory office hours primarily aim to strengthen corporate culture (64%), improve productivity (62%), and maximise office space utilisation (45%). 8% admit to aiming to pressure employees to resign.

Conversely, companies’ motivations for expanding their employees’ freedom to work in hybrid environments include optimising employee satisfaction (55%), well-being (53%), and retention (49%).

Companies which increase mandatory office workdays primarily aim to strengthen corporate culture, improve productivity, and maximise the use of office space.

"Our research shows that increased office presence does not automatically improve either productivity or culture. These claims are largely outdated after the pandemic,” Stacie Haller says.

“Company culture thrives not on proximity, but on intentional communication, inclusion, and trust. Enforcing more days in the office can actually undermine engagement and morale, especially if employees don’t see any clear benefit.

Modern successful hybrid models focus on meaningful presence, bringing people together for collaboration, creativity, and connection. In today’s workforce, autonomy and interaction drive culture more than physical attendance."  

Looking through fingers

Similar studies indicate that employers are having difficulty enforcing their mandatory office attendance policies.

"Companies announce their return-to-office plans, but it seems that employees aren’t actually adhering to these requirements," Nick Bloom, a professor at Stanford and a prominent researcher on remote work trends, said.

"We often find that middle managers are reluctant to enforce the strong RTO policies put in place by their CEOs. Managers are typically evaluated based on their team’s performance, and they may not see the advantages of stricter attendance rules if their teams are already performing well."

Middle managers are usually assessed based on their team's performance. When teams perform well, the managers may ignore their CEO's stricter return-to-office requirements and policies.

A recent survey conducted in the U.S. involving 3,000 office workers highlights a widening gap between employers who are insisting on a return to the office and employees who are increasingly resistant to these mandates.

According to the report by Flexjobs.com, 76% of workers stated they would search for a new job if their remote work options were eliminated. Additionally, 27% of respondents know someone who has either quit or is planning to quit due to their employer's stricter return-to-office policies.  ●

 

Read more:
Fortune.com: Google is tightening its ‘Work from Anywhere’ policy
Forbes.com: How RTO mandates reveal outdated leadership thinking
Resumebuilder.com: 3 in 10 companies will eliminate remote work by 2026
Cnbc.com: Bosses are still mandating RTO - workers are going, but on their own terms