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For office employees, the transition from the traditional, Monday through Friday “9-to-5 work model” office to a more flexible, technology-forward workplace is nearly complete. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional workplace relied heavily on the physical environment and tools that employees had access to. Hybrid or remote work options were rare, coveted benefits, usually limited to the tech sector. Otherwise, people came into an office daily to do their work surrounded by other colleagues.
Today, the workplace looks different as hybrid and remote work options are mainstream. With technology enabling people to work from anywhere—and AI becoming an integral part of the workforce—flexibility has become a strategic lever for many organizations, helping to maximize productivity, streamline overhead, and enhance employee retention. Despite the slew of Return-to-Office (RTO) headlines over the last few years, the reality is many leaders are leaving the traditional work model in the rearview and leaning into hybrid work.
The prominence of hybrid work
For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), the prominence of hybrid work has remained stable, with only minor shifts over the last three years. According to Vistage CEO Confidence Index data, 43% of all SMBs offer hybrid work as of Q3 2025, a decrease of seven percentage points since Q2 2022. Meanwhile, the percentage of workplaces that are fully remote has increased slightly from 8% in Q3 2025 compared to 7% in Q2 2022.
This 7% rise in fully onsite work, up to 45% in Q3 2025 from 38% in Q2 2022. is a far cry from recent rhetoric around return to office. Hybrid work is far from dead; for many, it’s the new normal. The once-deafening drumbeat of RTO has lost momentum since early 2025, as CEOs shift their focus to pressing matters such as economic uncertainty, policy confusion, and the three Is of inflation, interest rates, and immigration. As a result, some of the strictest and most inflexible RTO plans have stalled, cementing hybrid work’s place in the modern world. Hybrid work hasn’t disappeared. It has evolved as leaders determine the best mix of in-person and at-home work for their organization’s needs.
Why hybrid work didn’t end when the market declined
It goes without saying that the job market of 2025 is nowhere near as robust as it was in 2022. Rather than the Great Resignation, many organizations face the “Great Stay,” with employees holding onto jobs amid uncertainty and a weak market. Enter the rise of “quiet quitters” who are completely unengaged but try to do just enough to avoid being let go. In every workplace, employee engagement remains critical to driving performance, productivity, and ultimately return on investment. Regardless of how strong or weak the job market is, rocking the boat on workplace dynamics is a risk to business success. In the short term, employees may comply, but at what cost?
Amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and the rapid adoption of new technology, hybrid work is playing a key role in how many business leaders are preparing for the year ahead. Here are four ways CEOs are using hybrid work to optimize their business:
Reinforcing culture and collaboration
When hybrid work first became more widespread during the COVID pandemic, CEOs expressed concerns about fostering company culture and collaboration virtually. Today, many leaders find hybrid work can help elevate and better define culture and collaboration by reinforcing a more intentional approach to time spent in the office.
Improving the physical environment
A physical environment isn’t just what an office space looks like. Also, it includes all the tools and technology people need to be successful in their roles. Today’s most forward-thinking leaders are creating in-person environments that complement at-home work while improving infrastructure and rethinking floor plans to promote teamwork.
Providing more flexibility
In Vistage’s most recent survey of CEOs, respondents identified flexibility as the third leg of the workplace. Since experiencing hybrid benefits during shutdowns, employee satisfaction rates have become increasingly reliant on people’s ability to achieve better balance through flexible arrangements.
Building better bosses
It’s often said that people don’t leave bad jobs. Instead, they leave bad bosses. Bosses play the single most significant role in shaping employee experience. Businesses can only reap the full benefits of their hybrid workforce if managers are equipped to help teams maximize their workflows and technology, while upholding strong communication both in-person and virtually.
In today’s world of constant change and instability, the principles of the most productive and engaged workplaces remain the same. Instead of reinstating the traditional 9-to-5 work model, many leaders are leveraging hybrid work to enhance employee engagement and increase productivity.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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Joe Galvin
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