Is office work doomed?

GIG WORK: The workforce has made itself pretty clear that flexibility is non-negotiable. And if they don't have it at their corporate jobs, they're willing to turn to gig work to find it.?Seventy-four percent of Americans under 45 believe flexible gig workers will eventually drive America's economy , not traditional full-time workers, according to a recent survey conducted by workforce management platform Jitjatjo . Traditional employers may need to start thinking about how they fit with employees' changing needs .?

"The shift in priorities we're seeing is driven largely by the younger generation, but the pandemic also had a little bit of a hand in that as well, as challenging and terrible as it was," says Bethany Kemp, SVP of growth operations at Jitjatjo. "Out of that came a prioritization of close relationships, of engaging in activities that spark joy and of flexibility more than the previous generations and workforces did. And the gig economy provides them with those opportunities."?

Is your company at risk of losing employees to gig work? Employers risk losing talent to the gig economy if they don't prioritize flexibility. Here's what they can do

HYBRID WORK: Today, 74% of employers have implemented a hybrid work schedule , where some or most of their workers clock into the office a few times a week. While those who work this schedule have enjoyed benefits like flexibility, better work-life balance and improved career mobility, those same advantages seem to be evading the estimated 32.6 million employees who work remotely full-time .??

A third of remote workers have reported feeling lonely and isolated from colleagues , according to a 2023 survey from Glassdoor , and almost half of remote workers have even felt ostracized and ganged up on by their in-person colleagues, according to Harvard Business Review . So why are employers continuing to push a policy that leaves so many employees out in the cold??

"There have been multiple touch points over the last few years where we could revisit how we do things and how we want to operate," says Jennifer Britton, author and professional leadership coach with coaching platform Potentials Realized. "Yet leaders are nervous about even opening that Pandora's box."?

Here's why it's time to abandon your hybrid work plan for good: The hybrid work experiment is failing everyone

OFFICE PAIN POINTS: In 2024, nine in 10 companies with office space will return to the office in some capacity, according to a recent report by Resume Builder . The same study found that most organizations plan to track attendance, with 28% threatening termination for those who don't comply. It's all adding to the tumult of RTO conversations within the workplace — and there's good reason.

"You have these mandates bringing people back to the office, and they spend their day on video calls," says Larry English , CEO of digital, business and technology consultancy Centric Consulting . "Employees want to know: What's the point?"

Are you able to fix these common RTO issues before employees get fed up? 7 things employees hate about the office — and how to fix them