Back to the office?

Q: I was hired as an IT specialist, working remotely for a company in Cambridge. I have been working remotely for three years, and I am a (short) plane ride away from the Boston area. There is no way I can work onsite, because of family commitments and the distance. Working onsite was never asked for by my company, three years ago. Now we are being told “no more remote workers” and we should all expect to be working in Cambridge by July 1, 2025. I am not sure what to do. I am the main breadwinner in my family. Is this possible? Can this promise be broken? I said no to several other offers and accepted this offer because of the opportunity and because I had worked from home for years prior to accepting this role.

A:  Many employees have worked remotely for years quite successfully. Some roles are not conducive to remote work. Police officers, assemblers and janitors do not typically have the option of working remotely.

It sounds like you have been able to work successfully for years while working remotely. Being hired in a remote role and then being asked to work onsite is a challenge.  It also sounds like this was an unexpected request.

Before I respond directly to your question, I have given some relevant advice to many professionals for years. In short, always have a proactive approach to your career. The world is an uncertain place. No one should rely on their employer for job descruirity. The unemployment rate is still extremely low, hovering around 4% nationally. This is good news for you.

Regarding your situation, you are likely an “at will” employee. This means that your employer can terminate you at any time, and you can leave at any time. Some workers are unaware of what this term means. In most cases, an employer can change the terms and conditions of your employment. This could mean changing your hours, your benefits, your pay, or your work location. Unfortunately, this would likely apply to you.  Even if you were “promised” a remote work arrangement, your employer can likely mandate that you are required to return to the office.  I have suggested that our clients think cautiously about instituting such a mandate for a few reasons. First, in many industries, it is still difficult to attract and retain talent. Second, what is the reason? If it is just a “back to the office” mandate?  How is this requirement adding value to the business if it then triggers employee turnover?  Conversely, it is important to remember that there are benefits to working onsite.   There is some research which has found that employees have stronger work relationships and increased opportunities for collaboration when employees are working onsite. 

Many of our clients have taken a pragmatic approach to retaining remote workers. New employees hired by the company are being required to work onsite. However, employees who have been successfully working remotely are “grandfathered” making it permissible to continue to work remotely.

When employees have some input as to how they work, worker engagement seems to improve.  A May, 2024 report, published by Great Place to Work, found that if workers are given flexibility, and asked where they would like to work, these workers were more likely to remain employed with the company, and said that they would give extra effort to their job.  The highlights of this report can be read here: https://www.greatplacetowork.com/press-releases/research-employees-who-can-choose-between-onsite%2C-remote%2C-or-hybrid-work-are-14x-less-likely-to-%E2%80%98quit-and-stay%E2%80%99

Quite simply, it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle for employees working remotely.  However, with new hires a requirement to work onsite seems like a reasonable request to me.