63% of execs see productivity rise with return-to-office

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — A recent survey by ResumeBuilder.com conducted by research firm Pollfish found that 63% of executives have seen productivity improvements since implementing mandatory return-to-office (RTO) policies.
The online survey of 833 executives revealed that communication (65%), productivity (63%), and engagement (61%) were the top areas of improvement reported after bringing employees back on-site.
Seventy-four percent of leaders at companies requiring five days per week in the office noticed positive changes in productivity, compared to just 45% of those mandating one to two office days weekly.
Additionally, 59% of executives believe workers spend more time working at the office than remotely. However, 28% said the opposite is true, citing workplace distractions (73%) as the top reason.
Forty percent of survey participants estimate the average employee wants to come to the office four to five days weekly, though just 9% think staff generally prefer to work fully remotely.
To understand the impact RTO has had on productivity and other factors, in January, We surveyed 833 business leaders at companies that were fully remote during the height of the pandemic but that now have implemented an RTO policy.
View full results: https://t.co/zMALRcKrVu pic.twitter.com/dcspFYtf7U
— Resume Builder (@resume) February 3, 2024
“How much employees are working really has more to do with the manager’s accountability of the employee and the employee’s work ethic than it does with their location,” said Julia Toothacre, a career strategist at ResumeBuilder, offering perspective on potential biases in the survey sample.
Meanwhile, a new study from the Kellogg School and the University of Hong Kong suggests that remote work may impede on-the-job learning and knowledge creation compared to in-person collaboration.
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco also found no major change in productivity growth between industries more amenable to remote work compared to those requiring in-person activities since 2020.