The remote work era may be coming to an end — if companies can afford to keep their offices open

• Most companies mandate employees come into the office for a certain number of days, a Robin survey found.
• 52% of businesses surveyed require workers to come into the office four times a week.

Companies are increasingly requiring their workers to return to the office — if they can afford it, a recent survey suggests.

Workplace strategy firm Robin surveyed more than 500 US business owners and facilities managers across industries like technology, finance, and construction to see how companies are using their offices.

Researchers found that 88% of companies surveyed required their employees to work in the office for a certain number of days — close to a 20% jump since Robin conducted the same survey in 2022.

That could be, in part, because businesses are worried about the potential negative impacts that come with remote work.

"Business leaders want workers to spend some time in the office, and there are good reasons for it: in-person collaboration, cross-functional communication, professional development, sense of belonging," Brian Muse, the cofounder and CTO of Robin, told Insider in an email.

Companies appear to want employees to come into the office for most of the week. Out of the firms that have in-office work mandates, 52% require their employees to go in four days a week — up 32% since 2022, the survey found. This may be because companies in sectors like financial services and construction require employees to be in the office more frequently, Muse said.

That doesn't mean offices are now fully occupied. Even though the majority of employers want their workers to work from the office on some days, only 28% of these businesses are using 100% of their office space. In fact, the study found that 80% of offices have downsized since the start of the pandemic.

After all, keeping the lights on in the office can get expensive. More than 60% of companies surveyed pay more than $50 per square foot for their office space.

"With flexible work, people are still working at home 1-4 days a week and, because of that, businesses need to be savvy about how they leverage time in the office and what their long-term space needs are," Muse said.

The findings come as major companies and smaller firms alike continue to push return-to-office mandates in an attempt to boost their bottom lines.

Yet the return to a physical corporate space is drawing the ire from some workers who enjoy remote work flexibility.

One 31-year-old tech worker said they are loud quitting their job they once loved after their employer mandated its workers to come into the office twice a week.

Working in an office can be expensive and can make it harder for parents, people of color, and those with disabilities to do their jobs.

Still, there are groups of workers that do enjoy the office. Some Gen Z workers, for instance, go to the office more than they're required to as a way to feel less lonely at work.

Incentives — whether that's free lunch or a raise — may be what it takes for companies to keep their office lights on, according to Robin.

"Companies will continue to think up new ways to incentive in-office time for employees," the study says.