2022 Essentials: Return to Office

Remote. Hybrid. All-office all the time. What’s working and what’s not. Our best stories of the year.

It’s been nearly 3 years since countless organizations sent their employees home to slow the spread of COVID-19. If you had asked most experts in March 2020 if everyone would be back in the office by now, the answer likely would have been an overwhelming “Yes.”

But as 2023 approaches, office occupancy in many urban areas is still less than 50%. Employers are recognizing that they might miss out on top talent if they don’t at least offer a hybrid schedule. Hybrid schedule brings its own problems. When does the workday start…or stop? How do you manage a disparate team? Will managers burn out faster than their employees?

Below is the best of Korn Ferry’s articles on the topic.

The Blended Workday

In the remote-work era, both firms and workers struggle to redefine the parameters of a workday.

Return to Work—Or Take Long Weekends?

New figures show a wide gap between midweek and end-of-week attendance—more than some managers are comfortable with.

Layoffs: Will Remote Workers Be the First to Go? 

As firms cut back more, eight in ten workers worry that remote staffers could lose their jobs first, a new survey says. How leaders should make such decisions.  

Hybrid’s Burden on Middle Managers

Experts fear that having to implement RTO policies might be the last straw for many midlevel supervisors. 

Proximity Bias: The Flip Side to RTO

Employees returning to the office may be benefiting from more favorable treatment, regardless of performance. The risk that may pose to operations and to diversity efforts.