Massively adopted during and after the Covid-19 crisis, teleworking seemed to have become permanently established in the organization of work. But for two years, companies have been tightening the screws, tightening the rules and calling their employees back to the office. Economic context, managerial issues, real estate: the reasons for this great rebalancing.
We have to go back to spring 2020 to understand the meteoric rise of teleworking. The Covid-19 crisis, successive lockdowns and the massive closure of offices are forcing companies to improvise. In an emergency, they equip their employees, generalize digital tools and switch to everything remotely.
Very quickly, an observation emerges. Productivity does not collapse. On the contrary, many employees gain in living comfort, transportation time and flexibility. Between 2021 and 2023, teleworking will become a permanent fixture in the professional landscape, in a hybrid form that has become the norm: two days at home, three days in the office. On the business side, the benefits also seem obvious. Teleworking is becoming a powerful lever of attractiveness and a key argument for recruiting, particularly in the tech, finance or consulting sectors. It also helps reduce real estate costs and energy expenses. At this time, everything speaks in favor of teleworking, seen as a major social advance.
The decryption of Caroline Diard, associate professor in the human resources management and business rights department at TBS Education
The great return of the office since 2024
But this balance does not last. From 2024, the lines start to move. To UNITED STATESthe massive return to face-to-face work is quickly becoming necessary. Amazon, GoogleJPMorgan, Meta, Boeing and UPS are calling their employees back to the office, sometimes up to five days a week. In Francethe dynamic is more progressive, but it is well and truly underway. Many companies are tightening their rules and reducing the number of so-called “teleworking” days.
This turnaround is largely explained by the deterioration of the economic context. Growth is slowing, unemployment is rising slightly and the labor market is becoming less tight. The balance of power then rebalances in favor of employers. When recruiting becomes easier, companies can impose their conditions more. Added to this is the real estate question. Before the health crisis, many groups had invested massively in brand new head offices, office towers or ultra-modern campuses. Leaving these spaces largely empty represents economic nonsense, both in terms of investment and image.
A management and workforce management tool
Beyond economic considerations, the return to the office also responds to managerial issues. Large-scale teleworking disrupts traditional management methods, sometimes weakens corporate culture and complicates team coordination, due to distance and dematerialized exchanges. Some analysts even believe that the forced return to face-to-face work can become an indirect workforce management tool. By tightening the rules, some companies know that employees will choose to leave on their own. A way to reduce the wage bill without a social plan or immediate financial or political cost.
However, teleworking is now an integral part of employees’ expectations. It has established itself as a central element of the “psychological contract” between the company and its employees. This is why the majority of organizations do not eliminate it completely, but seek to recalibrate it. The challenge now is to find a new balance, making it possible to reconcile economic performance, collective efficiency and quality of life at work.
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