Five Remote Work Reminders for Employers

by Mike McCluskey, Senior Technical Editor, CalChamber

Prior to 2020, the number of employees working remotely or in a "hybrid" manner — a combination of in-office and remote work — was steadily on the rise. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit full-force in spring 2020, however, the number of remote workers exploded.

It's been a long road since then, and with relaxed face covering and workplace safety rules, many companies are finally bringing their employees back to the workplace in either full-time or hybrid capacities — but some are keeping remote work in place.

In fact, the recently released American Opportunity Survey from McKinsey & Company reports that 58 percent of employed respondents have the option to work from home for all or part of the week — that's equivalent to 92 million people from a cross section of jobs and employment types. And for executives attending a recent Fortune CEO roundtable event, the prevailing sentiment is that any company mandating a five-day in-office schedule is bound to lose a lot of its talent.

So, ultimately, for many employers, chances are good that remote/hybrid work is here to stay in some form or fashion.

"What we can agree on is that hybrid is the new normal," Christian Ulbrich, CEO and president of commercial real estate services company JLL, told Fortune during the roundtable event. "Work should be executed, driven by where it makes sense. ... We have moved from the old extreme that we expect everybody five days a week in an office even if it doesn't make any sense to do that work in an office, from the other extreme that nobody comes to an office. It will all come back into the center."

Given that remote work is here to stay in some capacity, here are five reminders employers must keep in mind while employing and managing remote workers.