Expect more office mandates and "microshifting" in 2026
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The increased pressure to bring people back to the office four or more days a week is prompting employees to get creative about their schedules.
Why it matters: Employers may envision a traditional full-time workplace with their latest mandates, but their employees' schedules entering 2026 are anything but, per Boston-based Owl Labs' 2025 State of Hybrid Work report.
Catch up quick: The "hybrid creep" has increased with more companies making workers commute to work four days a week or more.
- More than half of Fortune 100 employees have mandates to fully return to the office in 2025, per data released in July by real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
State of play: Employees may not push back on the mandates, but instead push for earlier meeting cutoffs or split shifts as they juggle work, their commute, child care and other responsibilities.
- More workers could be on late, or early in the morning, to meet all the demands at home and in the office in what's known as "microshifting," says Frank Weishaupt, Owl Labs' CEO.
- It could become even more common in congested cities like Boston, where rush hour traffic seems to stretch from Tuesday morning through Thursday night.
By the numbers: Nearly half of the 2,000 workers surveyed by Owl Labs recently cited lack of flexibility as their top workplace concern.
- 34% want flexible hours, and 27% want four-day workweeks.
- More than one-third would reject a job without flexible hours.
Yes, but: The job market is in the employer's favor right now.
- Many companies are still paying a premium for office space.
What they're saying: "I'm not surprised that a lot of these mandates have come from above. I'm disappointed," Weishaupt tells Axios.
What we're watching: More employees are using AI-based notetakers for meetings they're missing, per Owl Labs.
- The use of AI may test employers' appetites for these workarounds when workers are stretched thin.