Readers Say

Are attitudes toward remote work shifting? Ask these workers.

Unsurprisingly, most Boston.com readers prefer remote work. But a growing percentage think it's time we get back to the office.

By Zipporah Osei

February 28, 2024

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For a growing number of office workers, the days of taking Zoom calls from the comfort of your couch are a thing of the past.

Last week, Fidelity Investments announced that employees would be required to double their in-office time to two weeks a month, and joined a long list of companies souring on the so-called remote revolution. A few days later, the insurance company John Hancock also announced that its employees will be required to spend three days a week in the office starting in April.

We asked Boston.com readers if they agreed with office workers returning to in person work, and unsurprisingly, most readers said they would rather keep working remotely. Fifty-seven percent of the 1,585 readers polled said “no way!” to office mandates.

Maya, a reader who said she works in user experience design, said returning to the office companies should think about why they want employees back in the office, and “shape their policies around that instead of mandating a number of days a week.”

“It’s bad for morale if employees have been productive remotely in environments they could control, and then they are forced back into distracting, anxiety-provoking cubicles or open floor plans in the office. It also shows a lack of trust and understanding from company leadership, especially if leadership does not have to experience that disruption due to having their own offices. This doesn’t even get into issues with commuting, child care, and medical care that are also helped by more flexible policies,” she said.

But as employers are getting stricter about return-to-office policies, attitudes may be shifting among our readership as well. In previous surveys, no more than 11% of readers said they’d like to see the end of remote work (in March of 2022, it was just 5%) but now, 28% of respondents say it’s time we get back to the office. Another 15% say they understand both sides of the argument. 

“Work is tough and is not supposed to be comfortable at all times,” said Sam, a consultant. “While technology has allowed us to telecommute you still need to be physically present at times to do the job. Not everything can be done over Zoom. If it can, why not just outsource your job?”

Readers certainly loved the days of full-time remote work. Back in 2022, during the first wave of return-to-office announcements, readers told us their flexible work schedules made room for better eating and sleeping habits, time with loved ones, and even lunchtime bike rides and walks on the beach.

Some studies suggest that fully remote employees are 10% to 20% less productive than in-person employees. But much of the negativity around continuing remote work comes from company leaders and managers, who “struggle to trust their employees to do their best work,” according to Forbes.

Productivity (or lack thereof) was mentioned by many Boston.com readers when sharing their thoughts on the future of remote work. Below, you’ll find a sampling of reactions in-person vs. remote work, along with the job industry of each respondent. 

Should we say goodbye to remote work?

Some responses have been edited lightly for clarity and grammar. 

No way.

‘Life is so much better without the commute’

“Same amount of work or more is being produced at home without the extreme added expense of gas, commute time and commute stress.” — Helen D., accounting

“I don’t want to needlessly further our fossil fuel emissions and live in my car. It makes no sense to commute to a loud office to hop on Zoom with colleagues in other states.” — Anonymous, data scientist

“It all comes down to productivity. If you trust that I’m doing my job, then I should be allowed to do it where I feel more comfortable. Commuting is both a waste of my time (not theirs) and is extraordinarily stressful (to me, not them). Add in the cost to commute and working from home is a no brainer. So, do you trust me or not?” — John, insurance

‘A more balanced, flexible, and humane approach to work’

“I’m just as productive at home and get to spend quality time with my kids. I still go on work trips to meet with clients, but most everything can be done virtually. Pre-COVID, I used to leave the house at 7 a.m. and return at 7 p.m. I always missed dinner and bedtime. Now I make both. It gives me flexibility to spend time with my family while still getting my work done. There has to be a balance. A lot of the issues we see in society today can be traced to the degradation of the family. This is one way to bring it back.” — Drew, public relations

“Initially, I was against leaving when COVID forced me to WFH. It turned out to be the best four years of my career. Work-life balance improved tremendously and not having to commute, spend for clothes and food, etc. opened doors for me economically. I was actually able to save, whereas before I couldn’t afford to. Also, much less stress and more peace, joy, and happiness not having to deal with toxic politics in the office. Love my me and family time, allowing my full focus and attention to be on performance.” — Frances H., accounts receivable specialist

“The pandemic has prompted a reevaluation of the traditional work model … As a young parent, I wonder how parents managed all their responsibilities in the pre-pandemic era (and how so many families still do). How did they handle childcare drop-offs and grueling commutes? I’ve had to navigate numerous frustrating conversations with supervisors and human resources, and I’ve come to a conclusion: I’d rather advocate for the right to work from home than endure a three-hour daily commute into Boston, which takes me away from my family, places undue burdens on my partner, and ultimately reduces my productivity for my employer.

“The current state of work in America is emblematic of a broader issue: a lack of balance, flexibility, and consideration for employees’ diverse circumstances. It’s time to let employees choose the work arrangement that best suits their life circumstances. … The pandemic has taught us valuable lessons about work and productivity. It’s time to apply these lessons and advocate for an evolution in the way we meet the needs of a modern workforce, embracing a more balanced, flexible, and humane approach to work.” — Anonymous, urban planner

‘This is a power struggle for managers to feel useful’

“It’s an old mentality that productivity must be supervised. The pandemic forced the capitalist business world to actually consider their employees quality of life and use the vast technology available to reimagine the work week. The reactionary forcing of workers back to the office is unnecessary and short-sighted while also reflecting a former generation’s inability to change.” — Chris, teacher

“Nope. There is no need for this. If your management is effective, you have the right tools (Zoom, ticketing, time tracking, etc.), and employees are working and producing, there is zero reason to do this except to micromanage people and justify expensive leases on office space. I have worked remotely for over a decade. If your company manages people well, it does not matter where you sit. And you’ll have happier employees with a better work-life balance and less time commuting.” — Kris H., engineer

“This is a power struggle for managers to feel useful. If they cannot physically see you, they have a hard time justifying their position. The world is moving in one direction technologically, and these office call backs are calling for the opposite.” — Steve N., business support analyst

Yes! We need to get back to the office.

‘In office collaboration is more effective’

“Oftentimes there’s synergy when people are physically together, collaborating at work. It’s healthy and productive.” — James O., data analytics

“Accountability is a huge issue right now. It’s hard to have when people are not working together as a cohesive team. To do this requires in person collaboration.” — Steve H., nonprofit executive director

“I think, in most fields, the benefits from working collaboratively in an office are substantial. Flexibility, in my view, should be based on the employee and the week, rather than having a blanket policy that, for example, all employees can work from home one day a week.” — Katy, accounting

‘Better employee development and training’

“We need bodies in seats. My business is suffering because I cannot train younger employees. I’m sorry for the youngsters who think this eternal truth is different for them, but the world involves personal contact, and part of that is sucking it up and going into work with your coworkers.” — Brittany, financial advisor

“While it may be annoying for older workers to be in the office a lot, younger ones are not getting the social, mentoring, and learning opportunities that they need to be successful and happy. I’m in a small office, where this doesn’t really apply, but I have two young adult children who have definitely felt the damaging effects, both professional and mental-health-wise, of working from home all the time.” — Heidi, administrative

“The onsite work environment provides for much better employee development and training. High performing employees become visible but discrete role models for those less effective staff members.” — Mark W., retired corporate product management, current self-employed carpenter

I can see both sides.

“I’ve been working remotely for years since my office is in another country. I’d actually like to have an office to go into a couple days a week for the interaction and connections with fellow co-workers. It’s just too difficult maintaining rapport with people you’ve never met in person and the isolation kind of drives you nuts after a while.” — Jim, software engineer

“I am a HR professional who has heard both sides of it and there are points to be made for both remote and onsite work. It seems no one is ever going to be pleased, so don’t even try! I think some companies have waited too long to make the change back to requiring office days. So many employees have become fully remote for so long that they’ve grown accustomed to it and don’t even remember the days of being in the office positively at all.” — Casey C., human resources

“It depends on the nature of the work being performed. If collaboration with colleagues is frequent and required, it makes sense that employers would want to have their employees come into the office. On the other hand, a majority of white collar/office work positions require an employee to perform work independently on a computer, which can be performed literally anywhere with a laptop and secure internet connection. For that reason, having staff report to an office to do their work comes across as inflexible and antiquated, and merely for the formality of having staff come into the office because ‘we’ve always done things this way’ without any sort of discernment as to why practices of a bygone era of office work should continue. Furthermore, it’s head-scratching that corporations would prefer to pay exorbitant amounts of money on downtown real estate leases when the work will (or won’t) be performed whether or not an employee is sitting in their work office or home office.” — Joe, attorney

Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.

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