Hybrid Work Is Becoming the Most Popular Remote Work Option

Remote work is popular and will continue to be popular, but the shape of remote work is changing—from full-time to hybrid work.

Here are three 2024 trends supporting the growth, popularity and permanence of the hybrid work option:

1. Hybrid work is shown statistically to be of value to employers and employees.

While the pandemic spawned full-time remote work, employers began to change course by 2023, as the pandemic ended. Starting that year, employers began to ask workers to return to the office full-time. Workers, now accustomed to the benefits of remote work, resisted. This has led to negotiations. Now, in 2024, employers and employees have reached a compromise, agreeing to hybrid work arrangements that give each party what they want.

In the U.S., the hybrid work week, according to Gallup, averages 3 days in the office and two days working remotely. This arrangement is working for both employer and employee:

• Employers with remote working policy have seen 16% more revenue growth than companies requiring full-time onsite work.

• Remote hybrid workers are similarly winning, as they are 22% happier than workers who always work in an office environment.

2. Hybrid work has become popular.

According to that same Gallup survey, 40% of remote-capable employees “have shifted from working entirely onsite to either hybrid or exclusively remote work.”

The chart shows that both hybrid and exclusively remote work are growing and are predicted to continue to grow, while onsite work will continue to be less common. The clear winner is hybrid work.

3. Employers, knowing the hybrid work model is likely permanent, are reconfiguring their office space to their economic advantage.

According to the Financial Times, half of large firms globally have downsized their corporate real estate or plan to do so. Some companies are converting unused space to rental apartments, affordable housing or even setting up remote coworking office space. Meanwhile, coworking real estate is growing at a 7% annual clip. Corporations would not be making these real estate changes unless they felt that the move to hybrid work was permanent.

As Gallup succinctly said, “The future of the office has arrived…and it is hybrid.” We see it every day at My Space Downtown. Many workers in hybrid work situations come here a fixed number of days a week. We still have our share of full-time remote coworkers, particularly if they are freelancers or running a business for a regional company with no local real estate. All combinations of remote work are welcome and accommodated here.