Workers are spending more time in the office, according to recent surveys, but also chafing more at return-to-office mandates.

A recent report from Financial Management magazine points to a handful of surveys spotlighting the shifting nature of hybrid office arrangements. For instance, a recent report from the consulting firm Korn Ferry found that while 59 percent of employees globally are working in an office full-time (64 percent in the United States), only 19 percent like the arrangement. Among Americans surveyed, 35 percent say they would prefer hybrid arrangements, while 33 percent say they would prefer to work fully remote.

The anxiety comes on the heels of increased calls to end Covid-era work-from-home arrangements. In January, the White House ordered Federal employees to return to the office, and companies like Amazon have made similar requests in the private sector.

Globally, work-from-home arrangements have been trending downward: A recent report from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research found that days spent working from home ticked downward in the past year, to 1.27 days a week. A separate survey of workers in the San Francisco Bay Area found that the percentage of employees working fully remote has dropped precipitously, from 32 percent in 2021 to 11 percent in February 2025.

But employees are also pushing back against the shift to pre-Covid arrangements. A UK survey released last week found that only 42 percent of workers there would comply with a return-to-office mandate. And the Korn Ferry report recommended that employers should tread carefully when considering such mandates.

“One-size-fits-all policies risk alienating employees, while case-by-case approaches create complexity and confusion,” the report says. “The solution? A clear policy that defines your company’s approach, using your employer brand to turn this into a competitive advantage.”

A workforce survey from FM:Systems released earlier this month found that employers are eager to make across-the-board in-office requirements—only 15 percent supported flex arrangements, and 45 percent wanted employees in the office five days a week. More employers feel they have the leverage to do that, the report says: “Now that worker shortages have eased, the job market has become more competitive and unemployment rates are ticking up, organizations are rebalancing business needs with employee preferences.”

Conflict on that front remains: Nearly half of employees (47 percent) said they wanted a hybrid arrangement. That said, the survey also noted that employees see the value of working in an office for the sake of office culture and better opportunities to collaborate; 18 percent of respondents said they wanted more office time, reflecting that adjustment.

“When we asked employees working a hybrid schedule how they use their time in the office, the majority cited activities like meetings, networking and catching up with their team,” a report on the survey said. “This tells us that, while teleconferences are an easy, low-effort way to keep in touch with colleagues, teammates and clients, they can’t replace the spontaneous collaboration and social connections that come from being co-located.”