As some firms mandate a return to the office, is remote working already a thing of the past?

It’s been two and a half years since the world locked down and millions of workers left their offices to set up makeshift desks at home.

Fast forward to 2023, and many Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks, Disney and Google, are forcing their employees to return to office life, for at least part of the week, with many firms mandating set office days. So are we set to see a return to pre-Covid, office-based ‘normality’, or is remote working here to stay? And what will these changes mean for the consulting industry?

Most companies that had consultants working 100% from home during the pandemic saw this as a temporary, emergency measure. But as the vaccination programme took effect and the number of Covid-19 cases declined, many companies adopted a hybrid approach to their working practices, with consultants at all levels appreciating the flexibility that home working offered. 

Better work-life balance

Hybrid working has been shown to have numerous benefits, including a better work-life balance for consultants, improved staff morale, greater productivity, and less need for expensive office real estate. Not least the reduced impact on the environment by the reduction in heavy travel traditional in the consulting industry.

Many firms, including those in the consulting industry, have also benefited from the ability to cast their net wider when recruiting, as remote workers don’t need to be located in the vicinity of the office.

However, there has been a growing recognition that home working is not necessarily suited to every individual, or indeed every company. Additionally, some high-profile individuals, including X and Tesla owner, Elon Musk, have been vocal about their disdain for remote working, with Musk forcing X (formerly Twitter) workers back into the office many months ago.  

More structured approach

In this recent BBC News article, Gartner Vice President, Brent Cassell, observed that:

"Senior leaders are running out of patience…Many companies formally introduced hybrid working schedules in spring 2022, but most strategies were characterised as soft reopenings: 'We want you back, your badges work, we won't check attendance'. But they realised after inviting them back and offering 'Free Bagel Tuesdays' that no one came. There's been a shift among Fortune 500 companies, moving from a flexible hybrid strategy to a much more structured approach of set days teams are expected to be in the office." 

So while many business leaders and commentators believed that hybrid working was here to stay, it appears that the tide is beginning to turn, back in the direction of the office.

So what does this mean for the future of the consulting industry?

Fewer remote roles 

You only need to look at the jobs market to see how things have changed over the past couple of years. For example, while they can still be found out there, there are considerably fewer 100% remote consulting roles than there were 1-2 years ago. 

Similarly, there are hardly any consultancies that expect people to be in the office 5 days a week. Firms that do place these demands on people are struggling more than others to hire and retain good staff.

In our experience, most consultancies are falling somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, operating a hybrid model where people are expected to be in the office for at least 2 or 3 days a week, if they’re not out on client sites. 

Thankfully, the long-hours, presenteeism culture seems to have gone for good, with everybody recognising that just ‘showing your face’ in the office and putting in the hours, doesn’t necessarily lead to good performance. 

Conversely, while working from home gives consultants the flexibility and balance they need, some home-based teams report feelings of isolation and loneliness. It’s clear that time spent in the office offers benefits that you simply can’t obtain if you are working fully remotely.

Developing working relationships

Office days are invaluable when it comes to accessing mentoring, for example, or participating in development activities. Face-to-face working helps to build teams and develop working relationships in a way that Zoom or Teams simply can’t replicate. Even the leaders at Zoom agree! 

While there is still a need for firms to maintain a physical office presence, their premises perhaps don’t need to be as big as they used to be pre-Covid. Rather than prioritising ‘bums on seats’, office spaces should be designed to facilitate hot-desking, and support both face-to-face and tech-enabled teamwork and collaboration. 

Looking to the future, it’s likely that the consulting industry will continue to offer a flexible, hybrid approach to working. Over the last few years, we’ve seen increased recognition of the importance of diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and employee wellbeing. The flexibility to work at home, either regularly, or when required, supports many of these aims. It is far more inclusive for consultants with caring responsibilities, enables people to establish a better work-life balance, and can even cut carbon emissions by reducing the need for travel. 

In short, a flexible, hybrid approach, where highly-skilled consultants are trusted to know where, when and how to get on with the job at hand, will be the key to maintaining a motivated, happy and loyal team – and is by far the most likely way forward for the consulting industry.  

If you want to find out what consultancies are looking for right now then get in touch with the team. 

Or, if you're looking for a quality recruitment partner to find your next role or want to understand more about our process, just contact us. We're ready to start your job search today. You can also take a look at our latest consulting jobs.