Across the private sector, in-office requirements are also getting stricter.
Employees at Farmers Insurance, who just last year were told they would stay remote according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, now face a requirement to work in-person three days a week if they live within 50 miles of a Farmers office. In a recent survey of 1,500 office workers, Boston Consulting Group found 85% working in some kind of hybrid mode, and only 8% fully remote.
"Post-COVID for the first time ever, we are being told when and where to show up, and it just is sparking this reaction from people like, 'Wait a minute, don't you trust me?'" says Lovich.In a statement, the investment bank Citi told NPR,"As necessary, we hold colleagues accountable for adhering to their in-office days," which for most employees is three days per week.The cooling economy may be adding pressure on employees to be more visible on the job.
The job required her to work from Microsoft's Houston office 20% of the time, scheduled as she saw fit. For Garcia Espejo, who'd been caring for her elderly parents through pandemic, the flexibility proved transformative.She began exercising. Her blood pressure dropped. She adapted well to remote work, never feeling out of the loop thanks to a stream of online chats.But her dream job was short-lived.