Nokia is telling employees to return to the office, and Allegro and Google also want to see them not only on computer screens. It turns out that remote work is no longer the default model in many companies, and a growing number of employers expect their teams to be in the office regularly, often as part of a hybrid model.
The latest data from the Randstad Research Institute shows that only 22% of professionals work remotely or primarily remotely , but most expect to be able to perform their duties from home or a location of their choice 2-4 days a week. Meanwhile, data indicates that as many as 31% of employers would prefer to have their employees in the office 5 days a week . We investigated whether this is still possible.
Nokia returns to offices, although there are fewer desks than employees
A Nokia employee contacted the Bankier.pl editorial office and said that he and his teammates had recently received information that they had to return to the office for two days a week from September .
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“Currently, we're working entirely remotely. However, starting next month, each team will have to choose two days to come to the office. However, if someone doesn't have a suitable day, they'll have to take time off,” Piotr (not his real name), who works at Nokia's Wrocław branch, tells Bankier.pl. “We also have to reserve desks before coming to the office. The thing is, since the pandemic, there are fewer desks than employees.”
However, it turns out that Nokia employees have over 20 days a year to work remotely. According to their calculations, if they took advantage of this opportunity, they wouldn't have to come into the office until almost the end of the year.
Allegro and Google choose hybrid
Employees from other large corporations are also returning to offices. Allegro has been operating a three-way work model for several months.
“Our employees are currently working in a hybrid model, with more and more people coming into the office regularly,” Michał Gruszka from Allegro's press team tells Bankier.pl. “The situation in our highly competitive e-commerce market is changing rapidly, and as a company, we must be flexible and seek the most effective solutions. We are currently operating in a hybrid system, which includes three variants: from a remote model, through one in which an employee comes into the office once a week, to an office-first model with four days in the office.”
Google employees have also largely returned to offices.
” Since 2021, we've been working in a hybrid mode, typically three days in the office and two days from anywhere, ” the Google press office team told Bankier.pl. “Most of our employees still want to spend time on our campuses. However, many also enjoy the opportunity to work from home several days a week. Time in the office is usually focused on collaboration. There are also positions that, due to the nature of the work, require on-site presence for more than three days a week.”
Big maybe more?
Labor market specialists have also noticed that many organizations encourage or even require employees to be present in the office at least a few days a week, most often in a hybrid system.
“We're seeing a certain correction after the euphoria surrounding remote work. Some companies, especially in sectors based on collaboration and innovation, are bringing back office presence in a hybrid model, usually 2-3 days a week,” Wiktoria Kuc, HR Director at Symfonia, tells Bankier.pl. “We never returned to a full-time office model, but we consciously designed a hybrid model from the outset. However, many companies, especially technology companies, have returned under a priori mandate, without consulting employees. The current state of the labor market allows large brands to make such moves, but I wouldn't recommend this approach to smaller organizations or those primarily concerned with employee retention.”
Is presence in the office necessary?
According to Cezary Maciołek, president of the Progres Group, this is no longer a one-off wave or a passing fad, but a response to specific business and social needs.
“After several years of mass remote work, some organizations have noticed that while individual employee performance has remained high in many cases, other long-term challenges have emerged,” Cezary Maciołek tells Bankier.pl. “Primarily , it's a decline in engagement, difficulties in building organizational culture, and communication problems between departments . In the long run, remote work also weakens mentoring processes and “incidental” learning—something that happens almost automatically in the office, for example, through spontaneous conversations over breakfast or a quick question asked to a colleague at their desk. Furthermore, some managers don't feel comfortable in a 100% remote environment . Even though we've learned to manage teams remotely, many leaders still believe that nothing replaces physical presence, for example, during brainstorming sessions or discussing complex projects.”
According to the latest analysis of job advertisements conducted by the Progres Group, as many as 47% of offers concerned only on-site work, only 20% of advertisements included information about the possibility of hybrid work, and only 8% included information about fully remote work.
– This shows that despite the popularity of this topic in the public space, in practice remote work remains an option unavailable to many people – adds Cezary Maciołek.
Even hybrid work requires specific rules
However, the President of the Progres Group believes that even a hybrid model requires clear rules .
“At an organization we work with, employees had been operating under a hybrid system for over a year, even though remote work had previously been the dominant mode. After the new rules were implemented, they were free to choose their workdays from the office, as long as they showed up at least twice a week. In practice, however, this proved burdensome: many people postponed their attendance, for example, from Monday to Wednesday, often abruptly informing their supervisor or not doing so at all. Others would arrive in the morning, then suddenly disappear after 1 p.m. to “finish the day remotely from home.” The lack of predictability and rotation made collaboration and planning team meetings difficult,” says Cezary Maciołek.
“In response to these challenges, new hybrid work policies took effect at the company on August 1st. Every employee is now required to declare in advance which two specific days of the week they will work from the office and adhere to this schedule . It is no longer possible to arbitrarily shift days or shorten attendance times. This structured hybrid model is intended to increase collaboration efficiency, improve communication, and facilitate planning meetings and joint team activities. The decision was made because the previous flexibility, while well-received by employees, began to generate too much organizational chaos and negatively impact the work rhythm of the entire company.”
The office cannot be an offsite with free coffee
In turn, according to Dawid Pyszniak, CEO of Compass&Partners, the hybrid work model is still an electric topic – it arouses emotions, polarizes teams, and despite 5 years of getting used to it, it is still not well managed.
” These are no longer times when you can simply 'manage presence,'” Dawid Pyszniak tells Bankier.pl. “The pandemic has not only changed work models, but also employee awareness. Remote work isn't a benefit these days—it's become the norm. Attempting to restrict it, without real benefits for the team, can be perceived as an attack on established freedoms. And it often results in termination.”
According to a representative of Compass&Partners, hybrid work has benefited employees – because they can live further away, cheaper, without traffic jams, dress codes and lunch expenses , but also companies – because office costs, logistics, and sometimes even basic salaries have fallen.
“However, the losses are also real: blurred teams, a lack of onboarding into the organizational culture, more misunderstandings, and less knowledge transfer, ” says Dawid Pyszniak. “Our experience shows one thing: a hybrid work model can't be based on intuition. It needs to be precisely designed. If someone shows up at the office, they need to know why, what the expectations are, and what purpose it serves. Otherwise, the office becomes an offsite with free coffee.”
The most valuable currency is time
According to experts , however, we cannot talk about a complete return to the old model .
“In my opinion, hybrid work could become the dominant standard in the next few years, especially in large companies and in the creative, technology, and service industries. However, a full return to the office five days a week is unlikely to become a universal requirement. Employees have become accustomed to flexibility, value time savings, and a greater impact on work-life balance, and employers must consider these needs if they want to retain talent,” says Cezary Maciołek.
“Hybrid isn't about control, but about team effectiveness and the ability to react quickly,” says Wiktoria Kuc. “I think this working model is here to stay. However, more and more organizations will become more conscious about managing office attendance. Not necessarily by forcing it, but by creating situations that justify why it's worth meeting. A new employee on the team, a new project kick-off, a brainstorming session, or a collaborative solution to a complex problem are much less likely to succeed online. Hybrid allows you to combine focus with relationship building, and flexibility with a sense of responsibility.”
Moreover, the most valuable currency for people today is time. It's hard to justify wasting several hours a week on commuting if the goal is to sit alone in a meeting room all day . Employees must understand that physical presence in the office only makes sense when interacting with others, and over time, companies will learn to communicate this better and better, the expert concludes.
