Return to office trends: what data says about workplace productivity

Remote work became standard during the pandemic, but since 2024, technology giants have been mandating returns to corporate offices — a trend continuing into 2025.

This trend raises a critical question: Are these decisions driven by productivity concerns, as executives claim, or by hidden motives, as skeptics suggest?

We surveyed 471 tech workers about how productive they feel in different work setups.

The research examined four critical dimensions of workplace effectiveness: personal productivity, team collaboration, meeting effectiveness, career advancement opportunities. Each aspect was evaluated across fully remote, hybrid, and office-only environments.
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We begin with compelling data-driven conclusions that readers can quickly grasp, with the option to explore more detailed information later.

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Data at a glance: key survey findings

1. 87.9% of workers rate their productivity as high when given location flexibility, compared to just 22.3% in office-only settings.
2. Remote work with optional office access scores 4.44/5 for personal productivity, versus 2.62/5 for office-only arrangements – a 69% higher rating.
3. Team productivity shows similar patterns: 4.17/5 for remote with optional access versus 3.12/5 for office-only environments.‍
4. 51.1% perceive no difference in effectiveness between online and in-person meetings, challenging a key justification for office returns.
5. If running their own business, only 2.3% of respondents would choose an office-only model, while 51.7% prefer remote work with optional office access.‍
6. 78.3% of professionals cite work arrangement as a significant factor in employment decisions, making it a critical talent retention issue.
7. Only 44.4% of C-level executives rate office-only productivity highly, contradicting the narrative that leadership strongly favors office work.
8. Career advancement opportunities scored highest in remote with optional office access (72.2% positive), lowest in office-only work – upending traditional visibility assumptions.
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Now let's explore data visualizations for a more detailed understanding.

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Demographics

Respondents’ roles

Our study compared productivity perceptions across various job levels — engineers, team leaders, and C-level executives — and included non-managerial specialists from HR, marketing, and sales. Here's how respondents were distributed by role.

Team size

The vast majority of respondents (4/5) come from small teams of 2 to 20 people. Meanwhile, 1/5 belongs to a larger team with more than 20 members.

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Current work setup

Remote work with optional office access is now the most popular format — surprisingly different from last year's Refactoring study that found hybrid models prevailing.

The reason for this difference is unclear. It could be due to regional market differences or simply the one-year gap between the studies.

Does the work arrangement influence employer choice?

Apparently, yes. Among remote employees, 55% said remote work options were a major factor in choosing their employer.

Full-time office workers also chose their setup deliberately, with 84.2% selecting it purposefully and 47.4% considering it critical to their job choice.

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Personal productivity

Full remote: engineers are the biggest fans

Most people rate their remote productivity highly. Over half of the respondents give it the highest score without hesitation.

Engineers and their team leaders are apparently the strongest advocates of remote work.

In each group, 4-6% of respondents rate their remote productivity as 1, showing complete dissatisfaction.

The most productive remote workers come from companies without a physical office at all (shocking, we know). Those used to the office believe that remote format kills their productivity, with 21% giving unsatisfactory ratings.

Remote with optional office access: a productivity sweet spot?

Among all work models, remote work with optional office access received the most positive ratings judging by personal productivity.

This format works especially well for non-technical specialists. They feel much better when they can go to the office, compared to being fully remote (83.3% positive ratings vs. 68.2%).

Top managers also feel comfortable – 70.3% report high personal productivity while working remotely.

It seems that people working in such a setup have found the productivity formula: they didn't give any low ratings. About 68.4% consider themselves highly productive. Another 24% rate themselves a solid 4.

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Hybrid work: a compromise without satisfaction?

A third of respondents rate their productivity in a hybrid model as average, giving themselves a 3.

The hybrid model, which demands some office days each week, is less favorable than the previous one that gives an opportunity to visit the office when desired. Only 44.1% of respondents rated their productivity in a hybrid model positively (4 or 5 points). In contrast, 83% rated the previous (optional office) model positively.

All specialists share this view. It seems that people find it important for their office visits to be voluntary. This way, they feel more productive.

Office work: your boss feels more productive than you

For many respondents, the office-only model is perceived as less productive. The average personal productivity rating in the office is 2.62.

Though top managers feel more productive than their subordinates. 44.4% of this group rated their productivity as a 4 or 5, while only 17.1% of engineers gave themselves such high ratings.

Despite the negative ratings, those who already work in the office report high productivity.

Overall, the more accustomed someone is to a work format, the more productive they feel.

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Team productivity

Full remote: about 25% of teams are doubting their productivity

While nearly 70% of respondents believe their teams are productive in a fully remote setup, a quarter express doubts.

Engineers seem to have no problems with remote collaboration, with 74.7% rating it highly. HR, marketing, and other departments are less enthusiastic – only 57,5% of them give it a 4 or 5.

In small teams (up to 4 people), two-thirds of team leaders are satisfied with their team’s effectiveness in a fully remote setup. Interestingly, leaders of teams with 50+ members are less confident, consistently rating productivity in this format between 3 and 4.

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Remote with optional office access: productivity increases by 2% with few struggling

When a team can work remotely and visit the office occasionally, they seem to collaborate efectivelly. 70.6% of respondents rate their team productivity 4 or 5 — slightly higher than fully remote teams. Only 3.2% give low ratings.

Answers of C-level executives challenge the common belief that they prefer everyone in the office. 63% of them give high productivity ratings to teams working remotely with flexible office access.

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Hybrid work: team productivity lowers

The hybrid model aimed to combine the best of office and remote work. However, only 50.8% consider their team productive. This is less than in full remote work and in the model with optional office access. Many rate it a 3 and show uncertainty about its effectiveness.
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Developers show limited enthusiasm with the hybrid model: only 44.2% rate it 4 or 5. On the other hand, employees from other departments like HR, marketing, and sales are more positive.

Team leaders' opinions about the hybrid model are mixed: 62% rate it 4 or 5, but one in five gives it an average score. Among top managers, the imbalance is even more noticeable: 33.3% give it a 3, but 29.6% are confident that productivity in the hybrid model is top-notch.

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Office work: productivity is a matter of perspective

Most office workers are confident about their team's efficiency. However, it’s important to note that this is the opinion of those who have already chosen the office setup. For others, the office is more of an exception than a rule.

Again, C-level managers aren’t as convinced about office productivity as one might expect: only less than half rate it highly. 

Meanwhile, specialists from HR, marketing, and sales are a bit more optimistic: 42.4% of them rate team productivity in the office as 4 or 5.

The office remains a classic, but far from a silver bullet.

The larger the team, the more concerns team leaders have about productivity. In smaller teams, half are somewhat satisfied, while the other half have doubts. By the time the team reaches 10-20 people, nearly 60% suggest things could be better. Yet, in teams of 50+ people, productivity is either great or simply taken for granted.

[fs-toc-h2]Meetings effectiveness

[fs-toc-omit]Meetings effectiveness: no clear winner

For most respondents, the format of a meeting – online or offline – makes little difference in its effectiveness.

However, more than half of top managers believe in-person meetings are more effective.

Similarly, those who work strictly from the office also tend to favor offline meetings. Is it the power of habit? The question is pending.

[fs-toc-h2]Career growth

[fs-toc-omit]Career growth: remote work offers more opportunities, especially for developers

The more flexibility, the better career prospects. At least according to our data. People give the highest ratings to the remote with optional office visits format — 72.2% see good career opportunities there.

Fully remote work is slightly behind but still strong (69.1%).

Paradoxically, traditional office work ranks the lowest across all groups.

C-level managers favor the hybrid model, while team leaders feel more comfortable with occasional office visits. For HR, marketing, and sales, hybrid remains the perfect option — 63.6%.

[fs-toc-h2]Founder perspective

[fs-toc-omit]"Let my employees mix remote and office work"

We asked respondents: "Imagine you have your own business. What work format would you choose for your employees?" Over 50% favored remote work with office access. People prefer freedom, but with the option to work alongside colleagues.

It gets more interesting when we look at roles. Top managers are the biggest fans of hybrid work (apparently seeing it as a real compromise between flexibility and structure). Developers prefer remote work with office backup. HR and marketing aren’t considering the office at all (0% for office-only!) and favor freedom with occasional office visits. Those already in the office want to keep things as they are (68.4% for hybrid or office-only).

Complete productivity ratings

Below are the complete productivity ratings, measured on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest):

1. Personal productivity  

- Remote work with optional office access: 4.44
- Fully remote work: 4.26
- Hybrid model: 3.49
- Office-only work: 2.62

2. Team productivity

- Remote work with optional office access: 4.17
- Fully remote work: 4.03
- Hybrid model: 3.70
- Office-only work: 3.12

3. Career growth opportunity

- Remote work with optional office access: 4.15
- Fully remote work: 3.93
- Hybrid model: 3.79
- Office-only work: 3.39

4. Meeting effectiveness perception

- No difference between online and offline: 51.1%
- In-office meetings more effective: 29.3%
- Online meetings more effective: 19.6%

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The verdict & implications for companies and workers

As organizations formulate post-post-pandemic workplace strategies, our survey highlight several considerations:

1. Talent recruitment and retention. Work arrangements have become a decisive factor in employment decisions. With 78.3% of respondents citing work arrangement as a significant factor in employment decisions, companies with rigid office requirements may face competitive disadvantages in tight talent markets.
2. Productivity optimization. When choosing the right setup for their teams, companies may want rely on data-driven assessments of productivity, which along with individual perceptions may include metrics like output quality, project completion rates, collaboration efficiency, knowledge sharing. By balancing objective data with employee feedback, organizations can create a tailored work model that supports productivity and meets the needs of each team.‍
3. Management adaptation. Rather than focusing on where work happens, companies may benefit from investing in outcome-based performance management. The role of management is also evolving: leaders are now expected to foster trust, communicate asynchronously, and support autonomy across distributed teams.‍
4. Office space reconception. As hybrid work becomes the norm, companies are rethinking real estate. Companies may benefit from reducing square footage and redesigning spaces for purposeful in-person interaction: team offsites, onboarding, brainstorming sessions, and cross-functional alignment

For us the conclusion is clear: the question isn't where people work, but how the work is structured and how much trust exists within teams. Teams should have the autonomy to define their own culture and work practices.
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At On The Spot we host teams across all kinds of setups. So if you’re looking to join a new project and want the freedom to pick the setup that suits you best, check out our Careers page to find your fit.

For companies looking to build or scale their R&D team, we’re happy to do it in whatever work environment works best for you. Learn more on our Offshore Development Center service page or just drop us a line.

P.S. Big thanks to Kseniya Bernat, Co-Founder and community driver of Data Nomads Club, for helping us compile the dataset. 

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