How Many Companies Use Hybrid Work?

Since the pandemic, the standard work environment has changed, and more and more employees want flexible work arrangements. Some people prefer to work fully remote, while others prefer a mix of in-office and remote work. This “mix” is commonly referred to as the hybrid work model.

Hybrid work offers employees many benefits, including a better work-life balance, increased productivity, and improved mental health. Working from home helps save employees money, time, and stress since they don’t need to be concerned about commuting to work every day. Hybrid employees also feel part of the company culture and connect with co-workers due to face-to-face interaction.

Since the start of 2023, hybrid work has become more popular among both workers and employers, and this trend has continued into 2024. It strikes a balance between what both parties want, making it a good work arrangement. However, many employers are calling employees to return to the office for in-person work despite most employees’ preferences.

Many wonder what work model will become the standard. To help shed some light on the subject, we gathered the most recent hybrid work statistics to find out how many companies are hybrid in 2023 and what the future of work may look like.

Hybrid Work Statistics in 2023

More than half of the companies in the United States allow remote work some of the time or are planning to implement hybrid work by the end of 2023.

• 71% of US employers operate a hybrid workplace in 2023.
• 52% of companies that are remote-capable are hybrid in 2023.
• 75% of US companies plan to implement a hybrid work model.
• 29% of hybrid companies plan to stay that way permanently.

Employers have noticed the increase in demand for hybrid work arrangements over remote work. In fact, GlobalData found that job postings advertising “hybrid work” increased by 29% in Q2 of 2023, while jobs offering “remote work” and “work from home” declined. As such, more companies are integrating hybrid work into their business structures.

• 66% of HR leaders say their organizations currently allow hybrid work.
• 30% of HR leaders say they are planning to adopt the hybrid structure.

Despite increasing demands for flexible work options, about 51% of employers currently require some or all of their employees to be in person. Other companies allow remote work at least part of the time while implementing stricter in-person rules

The Littler Annual Employer Survey asked business leaders how they planned to manage their office space in 2023 and the following years.

• 48% of organizations plan to require more time on-site, at least to some extent.
• 39% of organizations plan to maintain their current model
• 12% of companies actually plan to offer more flexible and remote work schedules.

Studies show that hybrid work is more pronounced in the US than elsewhere:

• 51% of knowledge workers are hybrid in 2023.
• 20% of knowledge workers are fully remote in 2023.

Many companies have embraced the hybrid model, allowing their employees to enjoy their own home office while benefiting from the company culture. Businesses and workers have found that remote work options promote mental well-being, better working hours, and job satisfaction.

Future of Hybrid Work

If we want to know what the future of work may look like, it’s important to understand what employers think about remote work. Once we understand their general opinion on having remote workers, we can better predict what policies may come about in the future.

• 22.5% of US employers with remote workers want their employees back in the office full-time.
• Yet, recent studies found that 90% of companies plan to implement return-to-office (RTO) policies by the end of 2024.
• Executives expect that only 16.3% of their employees will be hybrid by 2028.

The call to return to the office is greater in some countries than others. Asia currently has the highest levels of RTO, and the United States has the lowest. Most of the European countries fall in the middle of the two.

However, returning employees to the in-office workspace may prove to be more difficult than companies would like.

• Almost 60% of HR leaders say that drawing in talent is harder now than it was before the pandemic.
• Plus, 47% of employees say they would quit their current job or start looking for a new one if their company mandated a full-time RTO policy.

In order to ensure employees do not quit their jobs, many companies are offering hybrid work as a compromise between full-remote and traditional office work. In fact, offering such work could be an advantage for companies in the coming years with RTO efforts increasing, making their business more appealing to job seekers.

Hybrid Trends Worldwide

A study based in the UK found that a growing number of organizations believe it’s important to provide flexible work as an option in job advertisements in order to help combat labor shortages.

• 66% of organizations in 2023 hold this view, while only 56% held this view in 2022.
• Additionally, 20% of companies plan to implement more ways for employees to work from home within 2023.

By the end of 2023, 39% of all global knowledge workers will have a hybrid work schedule. This is up from 37% in 2022. So, despite return-to-office calls throughout the world, remote employees are growing in number.

Best Industries and Jobs for Hybrid Work

More and more companies are allowing employees to work a hybrid schedule, even in industries you might not initially expect. GlobalData found that job postings offering hybrid work increased in industries like travel & tourism, retail, and financial services

Additionally, many top companies offered hybrid work in their 2023 job postings. These companies include:

• Flight Centre Travel Group
• Wells Fargo & Co
• Element Fleet Management
• Albertsons Companies
• Amazon.com
• Hub International

Hybrid work is also gaining traction in many industries. In Q2 of 2023, these ten industries posted the most jobs with hybrid work options:

1. Construction
2. Banking and Payments
3. Technology and Communications
4. Insurance
5. Business and Consumer Services
6. Consumer Packaged Goods
7. Medical Equipment
8. Healthcare
9. Oil and Gas
10. Retailing

While those ten industries increased their hybrid job postings, those are not the only industries that are great options for hybrid work. FlexJobs pulled all their data and found which careers and job titles are best suited for the hybrid work model.

If you’re interested in working in an industry well-suited for hybrid work, then you might consider looking into one of the following. These are the top industries for hybrid work in 2023, according to the most recent data from FlexJobs:

1. Accounting & Finance
2. Administrative
3. Project Management
4. HR & Recruiting
5. Computer & IT
6. Marketing
7. Nonprofit & Philanthropy
8. Customer Service
9. Medical & Health
10. Sales

Certain careers and job titles are also well-suited for the remote worker. These are the top ten job titles for hybrid work in 2023:

1. Accountant
2. Executive Assistant
3. Financial Analyst
4. Customer Service Representative
5. Project Manager
6. Recruiter
7. Paralegal
8. Marketing Manager
9. Account Manager
10. Writer

However, the World Economic Forum found that there are two industries with the most opportunity for remote work of either kind.

• 74% of workers in information technology and insurance industries report having access to remote work.

Other Hybrid Work Statistics to Know

US employees want to work remotely whenever possible, and the majority of them look for jobs that offer such flexibility.

• 63% of US workers say their primary consideration when accepting a job is whether it is remote, hybrid, or in-person.
• 42% of remote employees say they will look for other jobs if their employer refuses to provide long-term remote options.

However, 15.1% of remote-capable employees actually want to return to the office full-time.

One concern many companies have with implementing a hybrid work model is company culture and productivity. If employees are not working together in person, building a community may be more difficult. However, recent studies have found this may not be the case for most teams.

• 71% of middle managers believe that effective collaboration is most associated with hybrid teams.
• Organizations that offer flexible work schedules have 40% more high-performing employees than those that don’t offer such flexibility.

Periodic in-person meetings with teams and managers on-site bring needed moments of connection, improving overall performance, feelings of inclusion, and employee engagement.

• Despite this, only 40% of companies implement periodic team-building meetings with their hybrid workers.

Technology makes connection and productivity possible even when remote.

• 58% of flex workers believe that asynchronous tools like Slack and Zoom have increased their productivity.
• 54% of fully remote employees believe these tools increase productivity.

Other methods companies can use to help their team members feel more connected include video conferencing, company events, lunches, etc.

Additionally, according to a recent study by Gallup, the hybrid format is becoming more favorable to remote-capable employees and not just companies.

• 60% of employees with remote-capable jobs want a hybrid arrangement.
• 33% prefer a fully remote work environment.
• 10% prefer to work on-site all of the time.

The Bottom Line

Flexible work is becoming possible for many organizations, even those not traditionally thought well-suited for it. Post-pandemic, employees and companies had a chance to reevaluate what schedules could look like in a typical work week. Advances in technology also opened the doors to different possibilities. So, companies that previously seemed ill-suited to hybrid schedules can now take advantage of these changes by allowing different start and finish times, compressed hours, shift swapping, and more.

As of 2023, 71% of US employers run a hybrid business model, and the majority plan to keep some version of this model in the coming years. However, 22.5% of American employers want their employees back in the office full-time. Around 90% of companies plan to implement some form of return-to-office policies by the end of 2024. However, American workers can take some comfort in the knowledge that hybrid work won’t completely disappear.

Companies have found that flexible work arrangements are not only cost-saving but also increase employee productivity—companies that offer flexible work have 40% more high-performing employees than those that don’t. Many employees feel that flexible work schedules help them avoid burnout, improve health and wellness, reduce commute times, and improve their overall employee experience.