The Future of Work Isn't As Remote as You Might Think

25.08.2023 - 13:47 / skift.com / Air Canada / Morgan Chase / Matthew Parsons

Only a small percentage of companies are ditching their offices entirely, with growing numbers of staff returning to workspaces on Fridays, research has revealed.

Two new reports could disprove common perceptions around remote working habits and the use of offices. In fact the recent data from corporate travel agency TravelPerk and WeWork may even surprise people.

Barcelona based TravelPerk wanted to explore whether working trends among U.S. firms had remained the same or changed since the pandemic. It seems not much is different, with only 4 percent of U.S. employees having shifted to a fully remote working model.

Overall, 62 percent of employees said they had the same working model post-pandemic as they did pre-pandemic. Just 18 percent said they shifted to a hybrid model.

Some 15 percent of U.S. workers class themselves as fully remote or mostly remote.

Meanwhile, the agency’s study showed that 71 percent of U.S. employees are somewhat or very happy with the current work model in place at their company. And of the 58 percent of U.S. employees required to go into the office a certain number of days a week or month, 48 percent say they wouldn’t change anything.

TravelPerk conducted the survey in the last two weeks of February, polling 1,000 employees from sectors such as accountancy, banking and finance, retail and healthcare.

What does this mean for the travel industry? First, hotels probably shouldn’t give up on targeting city centers, or focus too much on adding co-working spaces. And airlines maybe shouldn’t rule out negotiating corporate contracts.

TravelPerk warned that with blended travel trips rising, policies will need to be updated. It’s perhaps this area, the mix of business trips and leisure trips, that will be the most permanent after-effect of the pandemic. This week for example InteleTravel revealed it had bought business travel consortium Hickory Global Partners — a big bet on the future of changing travel habits.

“With the new blending of leisure and business travel, the idea of separate consortia for these markets is now outdated,” said President James Ferrara. “This merger creates a single source of advantages and support for all travelers and the professionals who serve them — the consortium of the future.”

WeWork this week revealed it saw record numbers in March. Bookings increased 18 percent in the U.S. and Canada year-over-year, and its saw the most bookings so far in 2023. March 20 was the busiest week with 59,000 desk and conference room bookings.

While many people think staff prefer to work from home on Mondays and Fridays with a view to keeping those long-weekend, blended travel trips more open, WeWork said Fridays aren’t completely dead.

In the first quarter of this year,