Your future bosses in the C-suite may not want that corner office—at least not full time

 

Leaders in the financial services industry are notorious for leading the call to return to offices, but according to a new survey from Deloitte, they might not want to be in the office themselves.

Deloitte asked 700 mid- to executive-level financial services professionals—leaders who would conceivably make up tomorrow’s C-suite—about their thoughts on hybrid. If they have their say, the future will not be spent in the office. Here are the key findings.

• Very few want a full-time return to office or full-time remote: Only 13% of respondents said their ideal schedule was a return to office five days a week, and only 8% wanted to be fully remote. Only 18% of respondents said they wanted to be in office 3-4 days a week. 
• Most people who are required to go in full time say they’d quit: 66% of respondents who are remote said they’d leave their job if they had to go in five times a week. Caregivers were 1.3 times more likely to say they’d leave if they couldn’t work remotely. Meanwhile, 75% of men and 67% of women reported that work from home improved their relationship with their children.
• More than half of respondents felt pressured to go in more often: 52% believe in-office workers earn more, 63% believe they are promoted more, and 65% believe they are more likely to become CEO. Men, in particular, feel like they are at more of a disadvantage if they don’t go in—68% say they feel the pressure compared to 55% of women.

“Organizations are unique and so are their employees,” the report’s authors wrote. “Employers should focus on enhancing the in-office experience to demonstrate the positive, career-enhancing opportunities as well as defining why it is important and beneficial to the organization to have employees connected, networking, and collaborating in-person.”