Welcome to the June 2025 edition of WorkplaceBytes, a rundown of articles and reports on the future of work, office occupancy trends, and how workplace leaders like you are blazing new trails as teams adjust to the new workplace.
What’s making news this month?
- Gallup reflects on five years of post-pandemic workplace change. Among its findings, 81% of people who can work remotely say they are still spending part of their workweeks at home.
- Remote work leads to higher engagement but lower overall well-being. More research from Gallup reveals what’s causing this imbalance between engagement and well-being.
- New Times Group research indicates that hybrid work increases engagement but negatively impacts employee wellness. Data analysis from India’s Times Group notes a paradox in the impact of hybrid policies on workers, sharing the positives, challenges, and solutions organizations are implementing.
- Q4 ‘24-Q1 ‘25 XY Sense WUI published. Global workplace utilization was 40%, with the UK leading and the US and Canada lagging. Workplaces remain over-desked and conference rooms are much larger than needed.
- IWG research: Hybrid drives optimism and cost savings. A new study from IWG revealed that 72% of hybrid companies have experienced an increase in employee productivity, while 71% report that hybrid work policies help them attract and retain talent.
- The deal-breaker: Half of remote workers would quit if they were required to return to the office. Half of remote workers say they’d quit if forced back to the office, according to new Pew research, with significant shifts between demographics. The commitment to flexible work remains strong.
- Workers skirting stricter mandates, “coffee badging” – coming in briefly to show face – is still a popular workaround for employees avoiding full return-to-office requirements.
Let’s dive in!
Gallup looks back: 5 years of post-pandemic workplace changes
New comprehensive research from Gallup, based on more than 400,000 employee survey responses over the past five years, reveals 12 key ways workplaces have transformed since 2020.
One of the most important findings was that more than four in five of these employees have some degree of remote flexibility, with 55% working in a hybrid arrangement, 26% working exclusively remotely, and 19% working exclusively on-site.
The remote work paradox: higher engagement but lower well-being
New global Gallup research revealed a striking contradiction about remote work that challenges conventional wisdom about its benefits.
Globally, fully remote workers are the most likely to be engaged at work (31%), compared with hybrid workers (23%), on-site remote-capable workers (23%), and on-site non-remote-capable workers (19%). However, the picture becomes more complex when examining overall well-being. Although fully remote workers report higher engagement, they are less likely to be thriving in their lives overall (36%) than hybrid workers (42%) and on-site remote-capable workers (42%).
The research identified several reasons for this paradox:
- Physical distance creates mental distance: For some employees, remote work may feel like “just work,” without the friendships, team lunches, storytelling, and camaraderie that on-site and hybrid work can provide.
- Autonomy can be stressful: Managing time independently and coordinating work with others can become difficult without clear boundaries.
- Technology frustrations: Past Gallup research has shown that remote work requiring high levels of coordination is more challenging than remote work that can be done independently, due to a lack of available technology to facilitate collaboration.
The complex reality of hybrid work and wellness
Research from India’s Times Group revealed that the impact of hybrid work on employee wellbeing is nuanced, delivering significant benefits for some while creating new challenges for others.
The positive side: According to International Workplace Group research, hybrid work delivers measurable wellness benefits:
- 79% felt less drained, 78% reported lower stress levels, and 72% experienced less anxiety
- 86% said ditching the commute gave them more time for personal responsibilities
- People reported better sleep (68%), more physical activity (54%), healthier eating habits (51%), and improved overall health (68%).
The challenges: However, the hybrid model creates new risks:
- Isolation and disconnection: The lack of in-person interaction can lead to feelings of loneliness
- Blurred boundaries: Home becomes the office, and the “off” switch becomes elusive, leading to overwork and burnout
- Mental health risks: Reduced face-to-face engagement can erode motivation and clarity of purpose
Solutions for organizations: The story said forward-thinking companies are implementing targeted strategies:
- Ergonomic allowance: Reimbursing furniture or tech for optimal home setups
- Virtual lounges: Always-on video spaces for casual team chats
- Hybrid buddy systems: Pairing in-office and remote staff to build connection
- Manager sensitivity training: Teaching leaders to spot burnout signs in team members
XY Sense WUI: 40% global workplace utilization is the “new normal”
We just published the latest edition of the XY Sense workplace utilization index, which shows that global workplace utilization rose to 40% in the period Q4 ‘24-Q1 ‘25. To produce the report, our team aggregates and analyzes anonymous space utilization data from XY Sense’s vast global network of enterprise workplace sensors, capturing over 200 billion data points across more than 59,000 workspaces globally. Some of the top findings:
- Global utilization is up 9 points year-over-year (YoY) and 1.5 points versus the previous six months (Q2 ’24 – Q3 ’24).
- UK utilization remains the highest in the world, at an average of 52%. North America has the lowest average, at 26.5% across the US and Canada for the period.
- Midweek days showed stronger workplace attendance levels. Tuesday is the work day with the highest utilization, at 52%, while Friday has the lowest, at 26.5%. This big gap highlights the need to manage workplace utilization effectively on both busy and quiet days.
- Desks continue to be significantly underutilized, with about 45% being used for one hour or less each day.
Get a full copy of the report.
IWG research: Hybrid drives optimism and cost savings
A recent study by the International Workplace Group (IWG) found that businesses adopting hybrid work models are more optimistic compared to those with five-days-in-office attendance policies.
A survey of over 1,000 CEOs and senior leaders found that 75% of hybrid businesses have a positive outlook for the future. In contrast, only 58% of companies without hybrid options share the same confidence. Additionally, 75% of respondents believe that hybrid work helps them better manage economic challenges, such as rising taxes, tariffs, and shifting market trends.
Nearly half of remote workers would leave their jobs over RTO mandates
With a growing number of U.S. companies requiring workers to return to the office, new Pew Research data reveals the potential talent retention risks.
46% say that if their employer were to no longer allow them to work from home, they would be unlikely to stay in their current job. 26 points of that 46% say they’d be very unlikely to stay.
The data shows significant variations by demographics:
- Women are more likely than men to leave (49% vs. 43%)
- Younger workers are more willing to quit than older workers (50% vs. 35%)
- Full-time remote workers are most at risk: Workers who currently work from home all the time are more likely than those who do so most or some of the time to say this (61% vs. 47% and 28%).
Meanwhile, among workers who are not self-employed, a growing share of those with jobs that can be done from home say they’re now required to work from their office, workplace, or job site a certain number of days per week or month. Among those who aren’t currently working from home all the time, 75% say their employer has implemented these in-person work requirements, up from 63% in early 2023.
"Coffee badging" continues
Despite employers’ best efforts to enforce return-to-office policies, creative employee workarounds persist, according to Owl Labs’ State of Hybrid Work 2024 report.
“Coffee badging,” where employees clock in early just to swipe their ID badges before leaving the premises to work remotely, remains popular, with 44% of workers still participating in this trend. Additionally, 70% admit that their employers have caught them.
2025 design trends: experience, AI, and sustainability
JLL recently published an analysis of global design trends, revealing four key areas shaping workplace development in 2025.
- “Street to seat” experience design: In 2025, increased in-office attendance and urban foot traffic are likely to continue to spotlight ‘experience’ as critical, with a broader perspective on designing for end-to-end experience journeys. This includes increased investment in high-quality shared amenities, such as gyms and outdoor spaces, as well as end-of-commute facilities and surrounding retail and food options.
- Social connection and community focus: From workplaces to neighborhoods, fostering social interaction, building community, and cultivating social capital will be paramount in attracting people back to physical spaces in 2025. The design will focus on spaces that cater to various group dynamics, visual connectivity that fosters a sense of community, and understanding the spectrum of spaces for different interactions.
- Adaptive reuse and retrofit acceleration: Retrofitting and conversion of existing buildings continue to gain momentum in 2025, as global trends of aging building stock, supply shortages across sectors, and in-demand locations, along with increased ESG requirements, are increasing the risk of a ‘do-nothing’ approach.
- AI-enabled “science-led design”: The convergence of AI and “science-led design” presents an exciting opportunity to design fields, not just for efficiency, but also for enhanced data integration in creative processes. This includes collaboration between designers and fields such as neuroscience and psychology to create more effective spaces.
That’s it for this month’s edition of WorkplaceBytes. We hope you enjoyed the read.
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