Who "Controls" Where Work Shall be Done? State-of-Practice in Post-Pandemic Remote Work Regulation

TL;DR

This study analyzes how companies regulate remote work post-pandemic, revealing a trend towards hybrid models with varied policies, and highlights the ongoing experimentation and lack of a universal best practice.

Contribution

It provides empirical data on current remote work policies across diverse companies and discusses the evolution and diversity of these regulations in the post-pandemic era.

Findings

Most companies permit hybrid work arrangements.

The most common policy is three days in-office per week.

Few companies have increased flexibility or returned to full-time office work.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has permanently altered workplace structures, making remote work a widespread practice. While many employees advocate for flexibility, many employers reconsider their attitude toward remote work and opt for structured return-to-office mandates. Media headlines repeatedly emphasize that the corporate world is returning to full-time office work. This study examines how companies employing software engineers and supporting roles regulate work location, whether corporate policies have evolved in the last five years, and, if so, how, and why. We collected data on remote work regulation from corporate HR and/or management representatives from 68 corporate entities that vary in size, location, and orientation towards remote or office work. Our findings reveal that although many companies prioritize office-centred working (50%), most companies in our sample permit hybrid working to varying degrees (85%). Remote work regulation does not reveal any particular new "best practice" as policies differ greatly, but the single most popular arrangement was the three in-office days per week. More than half of the companies (51%) encourage or mandate office days, and more than quarter (28%) have changed regulations, gradually increasing the mandatory office presence or implementing differentiated conditions. Although no companies have increased flexibility, only four companies are returning to full-time office work. Our key recommendation for office-oriented companies is to consider a trust-based alternative to strict office presence mandates, while for companies oriented toward remote working, we warn about the points of no (or hard) return. Finally, the current state of policies is clearly not final, as companies continue to experiment and adjust their work regulation.