“When will it happen?” That question often arises in discussions of employees returning to the office when COVID-19 fully subsides. But as the third anniversary of the pandemic’s onset approaches, that question might be superseded by two others: “Do employers want their employees to return?” and “Do employees want to return?” A Gallup survey in June 2022 that indicated 60% of fully remote workers would be “extremely likely” to look for other opportunities if their employer decided not to offer remote work at least some of the time. Meanwhile, some employers have made it clear that they want employees back for the career-building, mentorship and institutional knowledge creation that in-person interaction facilitates. Others want to make use of their investments in campuses and facilities. Also, in the case of the securities industry and others, it’s easier to execute compliance, legal, risk, audit and regulatory obligations onsite rather than remotely. “During these times of the pandemic, sense of belonging has been broken. The workplace enables that sense of belonging,” says Gia Ganesh, vice president of people and culture at Florence Healthcare, a clinical trial software provider in Atlanta. But many employees have grown accustomed to working from home, with family obligations, high gas prices, automobile maintenance and lingering COVID cases all weighing against spending 40 hours weekly in the office, even factoring in the socialization opportunities. “Employees really want flexibility and choice over where, when and how to work. They don’t want to be told: ‘You need to be here on these days.’ They want to be able to choose,” Ryan Luby, associate partner at McKinsey & Company, told CNN. Hybrid work as an alternative Fifty-two percent of respondents to a CBRE survey in June 2022 intend to reduce their office space over the next...