Prime Highlights:
- Employees with specialized skills can negotiate fully remote or highly flexible work arrangements.
- Flexible schedules are becoming a reward for high-performing employees.
Key Facts:
- Junior or routine roles are generally required to spend more time on-site.
- Companies are using flexibility as a tool to attract and retain top talent amid slowing hiring and stagnant pay growth.
Background:
As offices across the globe reopen in 2025, a new workplace hierarchy is emerging, one where flexible work arrangements are reserved for top performers. Instagram employees are among millions facing return-to-office mandates, highlighting the shifting dynamics of remote work.
Sander van ’t Noordende, global CEO of Randstad, which places roughly half a million workers every week, says the “great return-to-office war” is effectively over. According to him, only employees with exceptional skills are likely to secure fully remote roles. “You have to be very special to be able to demand a 100% remote job,” van ’t Noordende told Fortune. He added that unique expertise in technology or other scarce skills is often required to maintain a fully remote setup.
For the majority of workers, some office presence is unavoidable. Yet, van ’t Noordende believes the rigid five-day, 9-to-5 model is fading. Instead, a hybrid equilibrium of three to four office days supplemented by remote work is becoming the norm.
Industry research supports this trend. At the beginning of the year, consulting firm Korn Ferry predicted a “new hybrid hierarchy,” where workplace flexibility becomes a perk reserved for high performers. Employees with in-demand skills can often negotiate fully remote or very flexible work schedules, while junior or more routine roles usually require more time in the office.
Many companies are now using flexibility to keep their most valuable employees, especially as hiring slows and pay raises remain limited. Top performers are being offered flexible schedules as a reward for their work, creating a new way to motivate and retain talent. While this can sometimes cause tension among staff, it is similar to the long-standing practice of giving higher pay to new employees compared to longtime workers.
As work arrangements change, hybrid schedules are becoming both a practical business strategy and a mark of recognition. For skilled employees, the option to work remotely is now seen as a reward for their abilities, as well as a professional benefit.
