The rise of remote work dealt a blow to the nation's commercial real estate market. But as the workplace trend settles into a more permanent role, new polling data is pointing to another potential victim: company culture.
Employees who rarely venture into the office, if at all, are becoming increasingly disengaged from their company's mission and purpose, according to a recent Gallup study on the effects of remote work on employee engagement. That connection has long been a cornerstone for employers and workers alike, playing a critical role in such factors as retention, productivity and the importance employees feel in their day-to-day roles.
The connection exclusively remote workers felt to their company's purpose fell below 30%, according to the Gallup data, marking a record low since the aftermath of the Great Recession. Prior to the pandemic, almost 40% of the group reported feeling a strong connection to their employer's mission, a figure that has fallen precipitously since the early months of 2020.
Corporations including Amazon, Disney, Farmers Insurance, Goldman Sachs and Google, among others, have grappled with how to balance employee demands for flexible scheduling with concerns about eroding loyalty and productivity.
Tech giant Meta is enforcing strict mandates about increased in-office time. Even so, it appears the remedy isn't necessarily in calling all employees back to the office.
The connection hybrid workers, or those who commute to a physical office on an abbreviated schedule, reported was slightly higher in the Gallup research than their on-site counterparts, according to the data, suggesting that companies offering some degree of flexibility were still able to preserve their workplace culture.