Is remote work gaining ground again? ‘It’s all a work in progress,’ says jobs expert

It’s enough of a difference to be “the start of something interesting” says George Anders, LinkedIn’s senior editor at large. “Remote work is having its moment” and it’s “at the very least a short-term reversal of a pattern we’ve been seeing in the long-term.”

This could be due to people extending their work-from-home period after the winter holidays, to manage cold and flu season, or to avoid commuting through snowstorms and other severe winter weather.

It’s too soon to tell how long it will last, though.

Previous LinkedIn data show remote job opportunities have been shrinking, from a peak of 20% of all job postings in March 2020 down to just 14% in November 2022.

However, an increase in remote work despite a drop in remote listings could mean people are negotiating for the flexibility after applying, Anders says. Or, more people might be able to start their jobs in-person, connect with their manager and establish a working system to take their jobs remote.

But attendance varies widely: A return to office has been strongest in Austin, where attendance reached 68% for the week ending Jan. 25, and least effective in San Jose, Calif., which encompasses much of Silicon Valley and showed an office occupancy at 41%. All cities in the index crossed 40% attendance for the week, also a post-pandemic first.

Anders expects the shares of people working in-person, remotely or hybrid will “always be in a state of flux” and could take years to reach a stabilizing point, if ever.

New people will come into the workforce, job roles get redefined, new remote- and hybrid-friendly technology will improve, and managers get more effective at managing in all three ways, Anders says: “It’s all a work in progress.”