Is Remote Work Dying Out?

We all know that the pandemic sparked the remote work renaissance. No longer able or willing to work in crowded spaces, many people made the switch to a hybrid or fully remote position, clinking away on a keyboard from the warmth of their homes. The cultural shift changed the national workforce as we knew it. Today, one in five people works from home. Estimates suggest that more than 32 million Americans will work remotely by the end of next year. Yet, some companies are pushing for a return to the office in the name of productivity and culture. Many people are referring to this shift as “The Great Return,” indicating that the pandemic bubble finally popped, and it’s time to get back to cubicles. Still, in Colorado, many remote workers expect to be operating from their living rooms for the foreseeable future if not forever. Here’s what else we know about remote work across the state.

Colorado’s remote workforce is strong

This year’s data is showing a decline in remote work in just about every state, with Massachusetts seeing a 35% decline. Oddly, Colorado appears to be an exception to this downward trend. In 2022, Colorado had the highest remote work rate in the entire country, with more than 20% of the state’s residents working from home. And more than 37% of people in Colorado work from home at least one day per week.

HRMS, a Boulder-based company that provides a suite of software applications to manage human resources and related processes, has never had a traditional office, and the company doesn’t expect to change that ethos any time soon. Sandi Mundy, the company’s marketing vice president told The Denver Post, “Since our inception in 2003 HRMS has had a 100% remote workforce.” She added, “We have never had a brick-and-mortar presence, and we see no reason or plans to change this business model and strategy going forward.”

Boulder in particular has recently held the crown for “most remote workers per capita,” with 32% of the region’s workforce working from home, although places like Cary, North Carolina have since dethroned Boulder. The millennial generation works from home the most. The state’s strong remote force could be partially due to the high concentration of millennials. In fact, 24% of the state’s population falls into the millennial generation.

Another reason for the state’s seismic shift towards at-home work could include lower overhead costs from office space rentals as well as a reduced carbon footprint from commuting. Prior to the pandemic, Denver’s office space cost about $26 per square foot. Despite lower demand, the city’s office space runs between $17 and $36 per square foot today. During the pandemic, many companies realized they could substantially cut their overhead costs by reducing or eliminating office space, which meant permitting employees to work from home.

Empty office buildings in Denver

Since many national companies are encouraging a return to the office, it’d be easy to assume that Denver’s workforce will follow suit. Yet the city’s growing office space vacancies could be an indicator that remote work isn’t going away. In fact, Denver’s office vacancies are currently at their highest rate in decades, likely due to the pandemic. Across the city, the vacancy rate rose to 33.8% in the second quarter of this year. And the total vacancy rate in the region was 24.8%. T.J. Jaroszewski, the director of Mountain Region Research at JLL, reported that this is the highest vacancy rate ever recorded since data collection began in 1999.

Contributors to this downward trend include fewer out-of-state companies. Even companies that maintain offices in the Denver area are cutting the amount of office space they rent. While some Denver officials have encouraged businesses to bring workers back to the city to support local small businesses, little movement to return downtown has actually occurred. However, Mayor Mike Johnston announced a plan in May that could help raise $500 million to turn former office buildings into apartments, marking a new development for the region.

The national push for in-office work

While Colorado’s remote population appears to be stable, national trends indicate that most businesses are pushing for a return to the office. A survey from Resume Builder showed that 90% of the nation’s companies will be returning to offices by the end of the year. While, in most cases, there is no single reason for the company push to return to the office, 72% of surveyed companies point to higher revenue from in-person operations as a reason for the mandate. Additional reasons included boosting the company’s culture and enhancing worker productivity. As a result, they are prepared to fire employees that don’t come back to the office. Out of the companies that were surveyed, only 2% expect to remain fully remote, with the majority of the remaining companies requiring in-person work or expecting to return to the office by the end of 2025.

Among the big company names that are pushing for a return to in-office operations is Google, which recently implemented a policy that tracks the location of employee badges. This enabled the company to determine whether or not their employees are physically in the office. Companies like Amazon and Tesla also began mandating a return to the office in 2022 due to “lack of engagement.”

Working in an office can enhance business operations, but it can also detract from the quality of the employee in some cases since experienced employees have a tendency to gravitate towards remote work. In fact, the skill gap can widen by eliminating hybrid or remote work. While many companies blame the skill gap on the employees, citing poor critical thinking and leadership skills, trends actually indicate that those same companies are prioritizing junior level staff members — or employees with less experience — largely because they come with a smaller price tag. Remote work, however, has benefited some companies by providing labor at a lower cost and enhancing the level of skill that’s available to an institution. It also widens the hiring pool, making it much more plausible for companies to find capable and efficient employees.

The future of remote work in Denver

Despite shifting trends and seemingly unpredictable work patterns nationwide, Colorado ranks as the second best state to work remotely in the country according to one study, with both Boulder and Denver topping the charts in the category. Although some companies are still encouraging employees to come back into the office, many of the workforce’s most skilled employees are determined to work from home more than ever, continuing a push towards a more flexible future.

The culture of remote work in Colorado

Colorado’s remote workforce remains stable for a variety of reasons. Among them is the general prioritization of health and well being — a priority for many people who are attracted to the state. Laura Ebersberger, 38, a Littleton-based closed captioner and transcriber, said she’s been working remotely for 15 years, and she can’t imagine a world where she’d return to the office. “I like that I can make my own hours, and I don’t have the office drama and politics and all that. It’s better for my mental health,” she said.

While she has worked in a studio before, the environment provided a range of challenges. “I just feel like working at a big studio, you have drama all the time — especially when people are getting laid off. It got really toxic. I just like working on my own and not having to deal with different personalities. I can go at my own pace. I don’t have someone looking over my shoulder,” she recalled.

The perks of working from her home are many, including added comfort. Yet there are few things she misses about being in an office. At times, she admits that she misses her former in-office co-workers, but the environment often became overwhelming: “You had a lot of very strong personalities. Back then I was super shy. I couldn’t really stand up for myself like I can now.” Working from home eliminated much of the stress that came from navigating a team of staff members. From the comfort of her home, she occasionally hits pause on work and heads outside for a quick walk, which was less accessible while she was in the office.

Working from home isn’t always perfect though. “I struggle to self motivate sometimes because my schedule is all over the place. It can be very hard for me to find structure, right? I try to wake up during the busy season. When it’s super early, I wake up super early. So, I still try to find that balance for sure.” As the demands of Ebersberger’s job shift, she also shifts her working hours. A few times a year, a lot of transcription services are needed which means she gets up early and works late. But when the rush is over, she finds herself with more flexible hours and time for herself.

She explained that being able to do her job from anywhere is a huge bonus, but artificial intelligence is currently threatening the industry. “There are fewer jobs. You have to have a lot of experience to get in,” she said. Pivoting and diversifying her skillset is one way she’s learned to adapt to the market’s new demands: “There’s still a need for AI editing, so I still have that going for me.”

Amidst the AI threat, Ebersberger has considered a career change that would lend more security, but she’d still want a remote position, like many people across the state. While she wouldn’t say no to the right hybrid position, she’d have to be in dire straits to consider a full return to the office.

Colorado local, Sean Ritz, began working a hybrid schedule in 2018 but shifted to a fully remote position as a marketing automation specialist during the pandemic. “As it currently stands, I don’t want to imagine going back to an office ever. Working from home has afforded me many more comforts than would be available in the office, and I do enjoy it better this way,” said Ritz.

The list of benefits is long for Ritz. He points to flexibility in his schedule that is in part due to not having a long commute. He also has better access to healthy food at home. He is  disabled, which makes having a comfortable environment and attire extremely important.

“That’s not to say there are no drawbacks about working from home,” said Ritz. On the negative side of the coin, he finds that finding work-life balance is harder from home since personal boundaries can become muddied. Isolation can be a challenge. He also finds that he tends to be less active than he was while working out of an office. Yet, “ultimately, for me as a disabled person, the benefits of working from home far outweigh the drawbacks, and if I always have a choice, I would choose to work from home.”

Coworking spaces in Colorado

Reflecting this reality, Denver’s coworking spaces landed the city in the 9th spot nationwide for their 3.79 million square feet — a number that’s steadily growing to accommodate new demand. Cities like New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago still have a leg up on the Denver region, but Denver’s growth is rapid, adding eight new spaces in a single quarter. Nationally, coworking demand increased by 7% or added 444 coworking spaces in the second quarter of this year alone.

Ritz reflected on his own coworking experience: “I occasionally go to cafés to work, but it’s few and far between. I find myself at the coffee shop to combat loneliness encountered while working from home. Working from home also means sometimes working in your pajamas, which is nice at times and other times not so nice. It does feel good to dress up nicely and go to a café for a day of work. However, I try to avoid it just to refrain from spending frivolous money.”

Unlike some remote employees, Ebersberger cannot use coworking spaces because she requires complete silence while working. But many remote workers frequent coworking spaces and coffee shops.

Ironically, although many remote workers left office jobs during the pandemic and reveled in the change, some workers are now seeking out community and culture in coworking places. Unlike many offices, coworking spaces also often provide amenities to those who use them like fitness centers, bars, and art.

Some coworking spaces also provide “passports” or the flexibility to work in other cities, which also enables some workers to travel at their leisure — a big attraction for the millennial generation. In fact, some data shows that millennials travel more than older generations, spending 35 days out of town on average — or about a week more than baby boomers. This could be another factor driving remote jobs across the nation.

Kayley DiCicco, director of enterprise sales at Expansive, told Forbes, “Coworking spaces will continue to evolve into environments that emphasize hospitality, enhancing their offerings to support this trend. Key focus areas will include revamped designs featuring inviting lounge areas with local flair, dynamic pricing models, gourmet catering and cafes, exclusive member events, global access and partnerships, enhanced security measures, sustainability initiatives, premium meeting and event spaces, as well as integration of VR and AR technologies,” indicating further emphasis on comfortable work spaces that offer flexible hours.