91˿Ƶ

News

Many workers are back in the office full-time—and some aren’t happy about it

Published: 20 January 2026

The world’s pivot to remote work in 2020 happened almost overnight, altering workplace expectations in ways still felt today. The return to the office is happening more slowly, but many of the country’s biggest employers now require workers to be in the office five days each week—and not everyone is happy about it.

“The drawbacks of going back to work are all very concrete. Things like childcare, noise, or temperature,” says Jean-Nicolas Reyt, an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at 91˿Ƶ Desautels. “But the advantages are all very abstract, things like collaboration and culture. We have a lot of frustration on the employee side because they feel like they’re giving up something that matters to them, like caring for their kids, but they have a mistrust of what they’re going to get in exchange.”

Feedback

For more information or if you would like to report an error, please web.desautels [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Website%20News%20Comments) (contact us).

Back to top