The Office Strikes Back? Unwrapping the Debate Around the Future Workplace Space

Five years after the great remote work revolution began, a new conversation is taking place - return to office. Working from home has been one of the greatest employee benefits. Corporations are now more than ever mandating return of their remote employees into office spaces for full-time, five days a week. Some of them returned, whilst others rioted and denied coming back to the office, which raised a few key points which we’ll discuss further.

At Radius Office trying to navigate this tense dividing matter, we work with companies designing environments that support wellbeing, productivity, and flexibility, whether staff are in the office five days a week or following hybrid models. Inviting furniture and a cosy, home-feel office space, such as our Soft-Seating, can make your employees feel at ease and welcome to the office.

Rethinking the Role of the Office in 2025

Whether companies turn into hybrid working models or full in-office setups, here’s what our team at Radius Office is seeing:

• Acoustics and zoning areas are essential - Whether they are mobile, like Wall Acoustic Standing Screen with Whiteboard or implemented in other office furniture. Soundscaping and adaptable layouts reduce distractions and support deep work focus.

• Workplace wellbeing is non-negotiable - Spaces designed with ergonomics furniture, natural light, and greenery help reduce burnout and increase mental flow.

• Choice matters - Whether it’s a height-adjustable desk or a closed pod, empowering people to choose how they work improves both satisfaction and work-performance.

On one hand, The Survey of Business Uncertainty(2024) found that most of the companies with hybrid policies don’t plan to change them in the next year or so, which could be a signal that hybrid work is here to stay. On the other hand, smaller firms are using flexible working modes to become competitive with the purpose of attracting talents from larger corporations.

McKinsey's and the University of Pittsburgh's research presents insight about the reasons behind the increasing demand from executives to return to office spaces:

• Real estate costs - Empty office spaces still need to be paid.

• Performance boosts - Some executives believe that in-office presence raises overall work performance.

• Cultural inertia - Senior executives who built careers in office-centric models may see remote work as a loss of their control.

On the contrary, University of Pittsburgh study also found that the bad side effects to RTO could be: significant drops in job satisfaction and longer hiring times.

Coffee Badging as the new Workplace Trend

Despite this sudden shift of working policies, employee resistance is strong and unlikely to loosen up so Coffee-badging was invented. A new workplace trend where employees visit the office during work hours to prove their presence, after which they return home to finish work. Including saying hello to some colleagues, getting a hot beverage and swiping their work badge.

It is considered to be a subtle form of protest or compliance with return-to-office (RTO) mandates, allowing employees to technically follow in-office requirements without completely engaging in office work. This trend is especially common in hybrid workplaces where presence is tracked but not meaningfully enforced.

Remote Jobs are Hard to Find— but in High Demand

According to CNBC, remote roles make up just 20% of LinkedIn postings, yet attract 60% of all applications. Which is confirmed by the 2023 State of Remote Work report, adding that 98% of professionals want to work remotely in some capacity for the rest of their careers. Otherwise, almost half of hybrid workers say they’d likely quit if forced back to the office spaces full-time.

The 2023 State of Remote Work report is based on the experiences of a few thousand remote workers from around the world. Let’s see some benefits of working remotely. Most valued benefits being: time flexibility, freedom to live anywhere, and work location choice. Also, workers have more time in their workday due to not having to commute to work.

Whilst top struggles with working from home being:

• 1 in 3 say they stay home too often and struggle with a lack of movement. We have a solution for you for your struggles - our Sit-Stand Desks help with movement in your home office.

• 23% struggle with loneliness.

• 81% check work emails outside work hours

• 44% say they worked more than the year before.

Conclusion

The real challenge isn’t choosing between home and office, it’s rather about making both work better. For employers, that means understanding the variations of how people work best. Hybrid work, Work from home or from the office does not guarantee high levels of employee experience and productivity. As a matter of fact, all workers, no matter where they work from, have the same level of intent to quit, experience burnout, effort put into work, and overall work satisfaction.

In conclusion, the State of Remote Work subjects report 91% a positive experience with remote work, and 98% would recommend remote work to others while 36% of remote workers said career growth is easier.