Full time in office drops to 31% of firms
Q2 2024 Flex Report is now live!
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The Q2 2024 Flex Report is live!
The United States is a melting pot. From our mashup of cultures to the unique diversity across the population, America's dynamism is on full display, especially in an election year. That variability is also apparent when it comes to attitudes and approaches to flexible work.
Over the last 15+ months of tracking flexible work trends, we've witnessed a broad spectrum of policy types and moves. Some companies are heading in opposite directions; Macy's is now mandating employees return to the office or risk termination, whereas H&R Block reversed their RTO mandate after listening to feedback from their employees.
While the US as a whole has become more flexible, the adoption of work location flexibility continues to vary significantly depending on how you slice it. Industries like Tech, Financial Services, and Media have been the heaviest adopters of hybrid and remote work; industries that are more foot traffic dependent tend to embrace more office time. Small companies tend to lean toward Fully Flexible models; larger companies tend to pick Structured Hybrid approaches.
In this quarterly report, we take a deeper dive into flexible work patterns regionally across the United States, and how those trends have evolved over the last 15 months. We dig into flexible work by state and metro, and even look at the surprising relationship between cost of living and flexibility.
Want a sneak peek of what’s in the report? Here’s a little preview👇 We’ll also discuss the latest findings in Thursday’s State of Flex webinar.
Full Time in Office drops to 31% of firms
The percentage of US firms embracing work location flexibility continues to rise.
As of Q2 2024, 69% of US-headquartered companies on an industry-weighted basis offer some degree of work location flexibility for corporate employees. Just 31% require Full Time In Office.
This is a high watermark for flexibility and represents a significant shift over time. Just five quarters ago, the US was roughly evenly split, with 51% of companies offering work location flexibility and 49% requiring Full Time In Office.
Insurance leans in to hybrid work
Work location flexibility is taking firm hold within the Insurance industry. Insurance is now the 2nd most flexible industry behind Technology; only 7% of Insurance firms require Full Time in Office work for their corporate employees.
West Sets the Pace on Fully Flexible Work
The Western US has the highest percentage of firms that embrace Fully Flexible work, meaning there is no requirement for employees to come into the office. Fully Flexible is the most common policy approach in the West; Structured Hybrid is most prevalent across all other regions.
The South has the lowest percentage of Fully Flexible firms and the highest percentage of Full Time In Office firms.
In the Media
Sherwood: Fridays are rarely mandatory office days.
P&C Specialist: Big commercial carriers reinforce their commitment to hybrid work.
Fortune: Why a $3 billion software firm is betting on a flexible-work future.
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