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The COVID-era shift toward remote work is rapidly receding among the nation’s biggest companies, with more than half of Fortune 100 companies now having fully in-office policies, but smaller firms are staying according to new data from the real estate sector.
In 2023, just 5% of Fortune 100 companies were fully returned to office. That figure has jumped to 54%, while the share of hybrid firms has dropped from 78% to 41%. The data shows these organizations now require an average of 3.8 days per week in office, compared to 2.6 days in 2023.
Workplace culture is shifting as major employers enforce return-to-office mandates. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is requiring more corporate staff to relocate to Seattle and report to the office four days a week. Google and Amazon have also cited in-person work as essential to productivity, especially as competition intensifies in artificial intelligence.
The data from real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle also showed a 1.3% year-over-year increase in office attendance during the first two months of the second quarter of 2025. The rise in foot traffic has been accompanied by record-high rents in premium “trophy buildings” across cities like Miami, New York City and San Francisco.
Vacancy rates remain high despite return surge
Despite more employees returning, office vacancy rates remain above 22%. Net inventory fell by 700,000 square feet last quarter, suggesting that demolitions or conversions to mixed-use and residential spaces are outpacing new office development.
While large companies lead the charge back to the office, their strategies contrast sharply with smaller firms, which continue to embrace flexible work. Gallup data shows that, for US workers with remote-capable roles, 51% are hybrid in 2025 compared to 52% in May 2023. Another 28% are fully remote, slightly down from 29%, while 21% are fully in-person, up marginally from 20%.
Large firms push forward, smaller ones weigh costs
Mark Ma, Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh, said the return-to-office trend is shaped by company size and talent dynamics. “Amazon can lose 1,000 talented IT workers with no problem,” he said. “There is still a lineup of young college graduates from maybe Carnegie Mellon or other excellent universities who still want to work for Amazon because that’s the Magnificent Seven.”
“But the smaller firms, it is harder for them to do it because once they lose some important employees, maybe no one else in their firm can do the job,” he said. “It’s a completely different story for smaller firms.”
According to Ma, the CEOs of companies with return-to-office policies tend to be older and more male than the average public company executive. Younger businesses, often with leaner teams and fewer overhead costs, are more likely to remain remote-friendly.
“In the long term, with the younger generation taking over, I think the CEOs will be willing to [allow more] flexibility,” Ma said.
