--- title: WFH Forever? Returning Workers to the Office Isn't a 2023 Priority for Most CEOs description: Only a small fraction of CEOs say asking workers to return to a physical office is a priority in 2023, according to the Conference Board. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true published: '2023-01-17T20:34:13.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T17:47:30.000Z' section: Business tags: - News word_count: 284 canonical: https://money.com/return-to-office-not-2023-priority/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Man laying down on his couch working from home on his laptop](https://img.money.com/2023/01/News-CEO-And-Remote-Work.jpg) Remote work isn’t going anywhere — at least not yet. Only a small fraction of United States-based CEOs say asking their workers to return to a physical office is a priority in 2023, according to a [recent survey](https://www.conference-board.org/topics/c-suite-outlook/driving-growth-and-mitigating-risk-amid-extreme-volatility) of more than 1,100 executives conducted by the Conference Board, a business think tank. ## What the poll shows - Only 5% of CEOs in the U.S. listed a return to in-person work as a priority for this year, instead focusing on other employee-related initiatives like strengthening internal culture. - In Europe, only 2% of CEOs said the same. Employees generally [don’t want to](https://money.com/work-from-home-employee-survey/) return to the office, either. In a [Gallup poll](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/397751/returning-office-current-preferred-future-state-remote-work.aspx) conducted last August, 34% of respondents said they preferred to work remotely on a full-time basis, while 60% of people preferred a hybrid arrangement. Just 6% of people said they wanted to work in person full-time. ## On the other hand... That survey data comes despite the fact that high-profile American companies are making headlines by instituting new [return-to-office](https://money.com/working-office-vs-working-remote-costs/) policies. - Last week, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz informed employees within commuting distance of its Seattle headquarters and regional centers that they would be [required to work from the office](https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2023/starbucks-support-partners-returning-to-the-office) three days per week. The announcement came after badge data showed that employees weren’t adhering to a directive to come in at least once per week. - Disney CEO Bob Iger has issued a [similar order](https://fortune.com/2023/01/09/remote-work-bob-iger-disney-four-days-a-week-return-to-office/): Corporate employees must work from the office at least four days per week beginning in March. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/return-to-office-not-2023-priority/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Business", "item": "https://money.com/business/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Remote Work", "item": "https://money.com/remote-work/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "WFH Forever? 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