• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

2

Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

2

Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Successreturn to office

Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon could be winning the remote work war as the rank and file admit they’re more productive in the office. Now they have to want to go in

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 6, 2024, 9:00 AM ET
Coworkers discussing spreadsheet
The office is critical for deep focus, respondents to a recent Gensler survey said.Erik Von Weber - Getty Images

The pendulum of public opinion on in-office work has swung back: When it comes to getting work done efficiently, the office has value you simply can’t replicate—sometimes. 

Recommended Video

Last summer, leaders at architecture firm Gensler’s research arm surveyed over 4,000 workers who go into the office at least some of the time, anywhere from all day, every day, to an hour a month. They published their findings in November in their Work, Life and the Workplace report, which opens with a stunning stat: On average, U.S.-based office workers come into their offices for 48% of their typical workweek. But those workers said that in order to be productive, they’d need to bump that split up to 63%. 

“That’s the main takeaway,” Janet Pogue, Gensler’s global director of workplace research, tells Fortune. But it leaves questions. “The office is here to stay, and people need it, so why don’t they come in more often?”

Pogue and her team, in search of a definitive answer, took a “hard look” at workers’ opinions from many angles. Namely, they asked workers whether in-office time was more crucial for individual productivity or for team productivity. But the same answer turned up: 63% of in-office time was needed, ideally, to work at max capacity. 

The finding seems surprising considering that workers have largely wanted to work remotely and insist the greater flexibility doesn’t impact their productivity. But it would hardly come as a surprise to the bosses who have been hammering the idea that working from home wallops productivity. Major bank leaders like James Gorman, David Solomon, and Jamie Dimon have all said as much, alongside Tesla’s Elon Musk (who went so far as to say remote workers just “pretend” to work) and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman. 

But despite their incendiary remarks, the issue has pressed on for years, with research (sometimes) confirming that office work is undoubtedly more valuable and other times insisting that employee choice is more important for long-term success than work location. 

The fine details of the productivity argument still need ironing out, because many workers aren’t hitting their stride. Two in five respondents told Gensler that the frequency at which they go into the office—whether that’s every day or barely at all—doesn’t fit their needs. Thirty percent of workers say they need to be coming in less, and just 4% of respondents felt that their attendance matches their needs and desires. 

The productivity sweet spot: Two-thirds of the week in-person

While it’s notoriously difficult to pin down a hybrid arrangement that works for everyone, Pogue says the data has pointed to a sweet point: somewhere between 60% and 67% of the week in-person. 

Naturally, unique life factors impact where and how employees work, and what the office provides for them. Those with longer commutes or young kids (or both) are in the office least, but they told Gensler that they actually need to be in-person most, probably owing to distractions at home. 

Those who live within 15 minutes of the office, unsurprisingly, show up most often—though they said they’re there more than they need to be. (The survey respondents were based in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.) 

Nonetheless, it’s critical when considering these percentages to avoid assuming they refer to full days in the office, as opposed to more flexible arrangements. “People are in and out a lot, and always have been, and I think we forget that,” Pogue says. “Partially in-person days are pretty popular.” (Twenty-eight percent of respondents said that would be their ideal.)

When asking workers in different demographics (age, parental status, living arrangement) around the globe which from a list of reasons are the biggest factors in making you want to go into an office, “focusing on work” was consistently in first place. In fact, it’s what all working generations—Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers—agreed on. Also common in the top five were “socializing with colleagues,” “access to technology,” and “to sit with my team.” (As future-of-work expert Annie Dean has pointed out, in-person work is essentially useless unless colleagues are walking distance from one another’s desks.)

Gensler itself practices what its data preaches, Pogue says. “We’re a global firm; we’re often not sitting with our team,” she says. “Our research team is based in five different cities, in five different time zones. We’ve developed how to build those relationships virtually, and when we do come together for work sessions or workshops, it carries over to our virtual work.”

Plus, she said, being in the office leads to undeniable positive bottom-line changes—which is the business case that companies might want to pay attention to next year. Among the top areas of improvement that office work can provide are relationships with colleagues, productivity, work quality, and awareness of critical intel. 

“A sense of presence is not just about building relationships, it has business outcomes too,” Pogue says. “We always knew that great design leads to great business performance, and we’ve been measuring that since 2008.”

But anti-flexibility companies might want to remember that these strong business outcomes still don’t require fully in-person work—or mandates of any kind. Two-thirds of the week in-person, Gensler’s data finds, is more than enough.

At the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit, Fortune 500 leaders will convene to explore the defining questions shaping the workforce of the future—delivering bold ideas, powerful connections, and actionable insights for building resilient organizations for the decade ahead. Join Fortune May 19–20 in Atlanta. Register now.
About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

Stressed job seeker
SuccessGen Z
Gen Z is right about the job hunt—it really is worse than it was for millennials, with nearly 60% of fresh-faced grads frozen out of the workforce
By Emma BurleighMay 17, 2026
9 hours ago
‘No one was coming to save me’: How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn’t fix
Successreese witherspoon
‘No one was coming to save me’: How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn’t fix
By Sydney LakeMay 17, 2026
10 hours ago
Gen Z calls degrees ‘useless’—but 20 years of data tells a different story: graduates are still the least likely to be unemployed
Successunemployment
Gen Z calls degrees ‘useless’—but 20 years of data tells a different story: graduates are still the least likely to be unemployed
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 17, 2026
10 hours ago
tarot
AICulture
We talked to 12 tarot card readers who are using AI. They split in 2 camps, with big implications for the technology
By Ziv Epstein, Farnaz Jahanbakhsh, Vana Goblot and The ConversationMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
tom
SuccessEntrepreneurs
Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio got a 15x return on a tech company most Americans have never heard of. He thinks his own industry is broken
By Nick LichtenbergMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Kurt Alexander, president of Omni Hotels & Resorts
SuccessCareers
Gen Z wants AI-proof jobs. The president of a 50-property hotel chain says hospitality is hiding in plain sight
By Preston ForeMay 16, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
Politics
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
22 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
5 days ago
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
Innovation
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Oil markets could be a month away from the moment of truth. Brace for a 'non-linear' price spike and panic buying, analysts warn
Energy
Oil markets could be a month away from the moment of truth. Brace for a 'non-linear' price spike and panic buying, analysts warn
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
Future of Work
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.