The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives around the world. And for one group of mainly higher-skilled, higher-earning office-based workers in sectors such as computing, marketing, accounting and finance, it meant an almost-overnight revolution in working practices. Working from home, previously regarded as an oddity or a perk, became the norm for millions of people.
Now, many employers want to roll back the home-working revolution amid fears that remote working harms productivity, creativity and collaboration. In some cases, they are mandating that employees return to fully in-person working, often to strident protests from their employees.