NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Just about anywhere there's internet a lot of us can get work done.
Last month, we saw the highest number of remote workers since the Department of Labor began tracking.
Despite this, organizations are starting to implement hard-and-fast return-to-office policies.
Amazon is requiring all corporate employees to return to the office five days a week in January.
The career coaching platform Resume Builder recently found 87% of companies that went remote in the pandemic will be back in-office by 2025. Of the 764 companies they surveyed, just 6% have no plans to return workers to the office.
"It can be hard to return to that traditional model," said Allison Malafronte, community manager at Collective615.
Collective 615 is a co-working space for women, including those with remote and hybrid jobs. It opened in the L&L Market in February 2020. It's only become more popular as more organizations have allowed flexible work arrangements.
"There's a lot more ways to be productive and do a great job at your job than one traditional model," Malafronte said.
Collective 615 offers a range of memberships. There are packages for those who want full access to the space and all events, as well as memberships for people who just need to stop in a few times a month.
The Department of Labor started tracking remote workers two years ago. This September, the number of people working away from an office reached 23.7%.
Jennie Zagnoev, a real estate agent in Nashville, works from Collective615 several times a month. She also has the option to work from an office, her home, or on the go.
"I can work a couple of hours in an office, but I can also do a workout class or I can pick up my kids from school, and if someone has to get to the doctors we can make that work," Zagnoev said. "The ability to go from Point A to Point B without the feeling that I have to take 'time off' is really nice."
Before she became a real estate agent in 2016, she was a teacher.
"When my kids got sick, my husband was the one that school called, because I couldn't just leave. It's nice to be able to share that responsibility now," she said.
As for Amazon, the CEO said returning to the office full-time will be an adjustment, but it is what is best for the company's future.
"...being better set up to invent, collaborate, and be connected enough to each other and our culture to deliver the absolute best for customers and the business, we’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID. When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant. I’ve previously explained these benefits (February 2023 post), but in summary, we’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and, teams tend to be better connected to one another. If anything, the last 15 months we’ve been back in the office at least three days a week has strengthened our conviction about the benefits."
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
Another example of how one person can truly make a difference. And the best part - we all can help! As a nurse, Laura handles emergencies every day. But nothing could prepare her for the emergency that brought her hometown to its knees. From her current home in Tennessee, she's mobilizing aid and supplies for Helene survivors and is helping make their recovery easier and their holidays brighter. I hope you take a moment to watch her story - you might even feel inspired to lend a helping hand.
-Rebecca Schleicher
