The year 2025 has decisively turned the page on the remote work revolution sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. What began as a trickle with Amazon's mandate for a five-day office week at the start of the year has turned into a flood, with a who's who of global corporations following suit, effectively ending the great work-from-home experiment for millions.
The Great Corporate U-Turn of 2025
In a significant policy reversal, Amazon mandated its employees to return to the office five days per week from the beginning of 2025. This move set off a chain reaction across the technology and finance sectors. Over the subsequent months, industry behemoths including Dell, IBM, Meta, Salesforce, Snap, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Disney, and AT&T issued similar or identical mandates for their workforces.
The trend continued right through the year, culminating with Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri's company-wide memo. According to the directive, starting February 2, US-based Instagram employees will need to return to the office full-time. This widespread shift signals a stark departure from the conversations in 2020 that hailed remote and hybrid models as the inevitable future of work.
A New "Hybrid Hierarchy" Emerges
According to Sander van ’t Noordende, the global CEO of Randstad—the world's largest recruitment firm placing half a million workers weekly—the debate is settled. In an interview with Fortune, he declared the great return-to-office war is effectively over, and a new corporate pecking order has taken shape.
Van ’t Noordende explained that while rank-and-file employees are being summoned back to their desks, only exceptional performers will retain the privilege of fully remote roles. "You have to be very special to be able to demand a 100% remote job," he stated. This special status is typically reserved for those with rare technology skills or unique expertise. This observation aligns with a prediction made by consulting firm Korn Ferry at the start of the year, which forecasted a "new hybrid hierarchy" where flexibility becomes a coveted perk, not a universal right.
Their report outlined that 2025's 'Haves and Have-Nots' will be divided by talent and their value to the company. Essentially, top-tier workers with scarce, in-demand skills retain the leverage to negotiate for fully remote or ultra-flexible arrangements. Conversely, those in more junior or commoditized roles, with the least bargaining power, are most likely to face strict in-office requirements.
Strict Mandates and Leadership's Stance
Corporate leadership has been unequivocal in enforcing this new reality. Amazon's cloud chief, Matt Garman, reportedly told employees resistant to the new rule that they were free to leave. In the financial sector, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, along with leaders at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have been vocal advocates for in-office work, arguing it fosters better learning, innovation, and company culture.
JPMorgan's operating committee, in a memo, noted that more than half of its 316,000-strong global workforce already works from the office full-time. "Now is the right time to solidify our full-time in-office approach," the executives wrote, asserting it is the best way to manage the company.
This sweeping change marks the definitive end of a chapter that began in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic forced a global, unplanned shift to remote work. Five years later, the corporate world has collectively changed its tune, bringing the era of widespread remote work to a close and ushering in a new, more stratified reality for the global workforce.
