Even in the age of flexible work, landing your dream hybrid job might not be enough to keep you safe from creeping in-office policies. Just because the job ad promised two days a week of commuting, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019ll stay that way. In fact, many employers are steadily increasing the days they\u2019re asking their workforce to show face\u2014but they\u2019re doing it on the sly to not spook staff or trigger pushback.<\/p>\n
The new phenomenon is called \u201cthe hybrid creep,\u201d according to a recent report from Owl Labs<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the report, only 23% of employers have made formal changes to their remote or hybrid policies in the past year. Likewise, 73% of workers say their companies haven\u2019t changed their remote or hybrid policies in the past year.<\/p>\n Yet, the number of in-person days coming down the pipeline has been stealthily increasing. The report found that today, 63% of employees are fully in-office, 9% are fully remote, and about one in four are hybrid\u2014up from 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n The data shows that while most companies insist their policies are unchanged, employees are quietly being asked to show up more often. In 2024, just 32% of hybrid workers were expected in four days a week\u2014but that\u2019s already climbed to 34% in 2025. That is, up from about one-quarter in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the share of workers commuting only once a week dropped from 7% to 5%.<\/p>\n The number of days workers were asked to show face 2024, according to Owl Labs<\/p>\n Compared to 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThis suggests that even without a sweeping mandate, many employees are experiencing a slow-motion return to office,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n Navigating the new normal: Setting boundaries amid the slow return to office<\/p>\n As a result of the lack of formal policy change, work is increasingly blurring with personal life: Nearly 1 in 3 workers (30%) do not have a clear start and end to their workdays<\/p>\n 59% of workers schedule personal appointments during traditional working hours, with 38% taking up to an hour and 17% taking up to 90 minutes a day outside of their lunch break.<\/p>\n As more days in office overlap between home and office hours without policy changes, it may be helpful to draw some new boundaries. Fineas Tatar, productivity expert and cofounder of the remote assistance services firm, Viva gave Fortune some tips.\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Audit your calendar\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLook for recurring meetings that no longer serve a purpose and reclaim that time for strategic thinking,\u201d\u00a0 Tatar said.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. Protect transition time\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLeaders make sharper decisions when they leave space between major tasks instead of stacking commitments back-to-back,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Invest in role clarity\u00a0<\/p>\n And to help your team find balance, he recommends ensuring \u201cevery direct report knows what decisions they own,\u201d to reduce bottlenecks. Tatar says these small but impactful changes compound over time, helping both workers and executives avoid the exhaustion and inefficiency that can come with new office mandates.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just bosses who want to be in the office more<\/p>\n Preferences for working in-person are shifting too. It\u2019s not just bosses: 21% of employees now want to be in the office four days a week, up from 17% last year, and a quarter say they\u2019d prefer to be fully in-office.\u00a0<\/p>\n The change appears to be driven by greater productivity and connection. Workers said they felt more effective when managing others, meeting new people, collaborating and being mentored. In fact, 43% say they focus better in the office, compared to about one-third who prefer working from home. Just a year ago, that split was even at 41% each.\u00a0In office requirements, formal or informal have been on the rise in corporate America the last few years, such as Amazon<\/a> and Microsoft<\/a>. <\/p>\n But despite workers complying with their managers, they\u2019re making sure it\u2019s on their terms. For example, 43% of workers partake in \u201ccoffee badging<\/a>\u201d or going to the office for a few hours just to show their face. Though the trend has decreased from 2023 levels, 12% still want to give it a try.\n<\/p>\n\n
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