Although the days of fully remote work may be over, many employees have expressed a desire for flexible work arrangements. But with Covid-19 no longer a global health emergency, more organizations could demand that people return to the office—setting the scene for an inevitable tug-of-war.

Some organizations, including Google, Meta, and EY, have continued allowing telework in some capacity. But others have followed the lead of Twitter’s new boss, Elon Musk, and insisted on calling employees back to the office full-time. Some downsides of flexi-work that often come up are onboarding difficulties, the logistical challenges of asynchronous work, the erosion of team cohesion, culture and collaboration, and the risk that employees may lose motivation.

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