To WFH Or Return to The Office in 2025; That is The Question

For insurance brands planning 2025 staffing levels and teams deployment on various projects, the issue of WFH is tricky. It is cheaper for employees to stay at home, but in a highly regulated industry like insurance there are security challenges on consumer data, claims settlements, premium collection and more to consider. Here’s some insights from Resume.org FYI.

New research has revealed that one in three businesses are requiring employees to work a full five-day week in the office.

The findings by Resume.Org reveal that lease agreements and office utilisation play a significant role in shaping return-to-office policies.

The primary drivers for RTO policies include fostering collaboration and teamwork (69%), improving communication (58%), strengthening company culture (51%), boosting productivity (47%), and maximising office space use (40%).

As companies navigate a rapidly changing business landscape post-Covid, will a return to full-time office create a lack of trust between employees and bosses? Or will it create more productive workers?

Guy Thornton, Founder of Practice Aptitude Tests, offers his expert insight into the company policies that are changing and why they could prove to do more harm than beneficial for businesses.

“The hybrid working model was introduced globally as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many companies to rapidly shift to remote work. As businesses adapted to the new normal, the hybrid model emerged as a compromise between fully remote and traditional office work.

“A 2024 study from Forbes has shown that the hybrid working model increased productivity in the workplace by 48.8%, in addition to lowering business costs and increasing employee retention—so why are employers choosing to revert to pre-pandemic work models? After Amazon announce this shift in aiming to implement a 5-day in-office approach again post-Covid, 90% of their employees have responded and shown that they are not happy with the new policy, with a further 73% of surveyed employees considering resigning because of it.”

“When employees feel they are constantly being watched, it can erode trust between them and their employers. A lack of trust can then lead to disengagement amongst employees, as well as reduced motivation and lower overall morale, which ironically can affect productivity.

“It can also blur the line between work and personal life. If employees are being micromanaged consistently, they may feel significant pressure to meet targets and get tasks done as a means to try and please their managers. When the focus shifts to monitoring every detail of employee activity, it can lead to a compliance-orientated culture where employees are more concerned with meeting monitoring criteria than actually succeeding for both themselves and the company.

“This can make staff feel less valued and more like a cog in the machine. In turn, changes in work conditions can have more negative effects than positive ones. The more hostile the environment becomes, the higher the employee turnover rate will tend to be, with statistics showing that 69% of people surveyed who have experienced micromanagement say it made them consider changing jobs.