Office vs Remote working - The constant tug of war

It feels like there is a real tug of war playing out right now between office and remote working patterns in the digital transformation space, and it's hard to call who's winning. 

So what's going on in the market?

Since 2020, remote working has been an ever-present part of employer's offering to employees. In fact, Flexa reported that Q4 in 2024 saw the biggest ever demand from employees for 'flexible' working arrangements since its emergence and rise to popularity during the pandemic.

However, this is in direct contrast to the direction of travel being taken by many employers who are actually mandating a return to office in 2025, especially by those with offices in the major cities. Amazon, Goldman Sachs, and PwC are just a select few big names that are demanding a full return-to-office by the end of the year. 

But in a lot of cases accompanying this shift is no real shift in benefits or salaries to reflect the additional costs and commitments that come with a regular commute.

Here in lies the tug of war situation; which side will give in first, or will there be a mutually beneficial compromise?

How is this impacting the ConTech space?

This trend is also being replicated in the construction tech market, with employers currently struggling to attract and secure candidates as their salary and benefits do not match up to the requirements of the job. On a very basic level, this approach narrows the pool of talent businesses can access. The worst case scenario for the industry is that businesses actively haemorrhage talent as people seek for roles that offer the flexibility they have experienced over the previous 4 years or so.

With the construction technology sector being in a period of high growth, losing top talent at this point could be detrimental to many start-ups.

So what needs to be done to prevent this mass exodus of talent? Quite simply, there needs to be a compromise. If you're a company that is desperate to have employees in 5 days a week, then you need to compensate them for the additional time and expense that comes with a daily commute. Or, if you can afford to offer flexible working arrangements, then this is another way to not only maintain top talent, but to attract them as well.

We work with some of the top companies in the construction technology sector, and they are at the top because they treat their employees with respect and offer working patterns that work for them. Want to see what roles we're working on right now? Check out our active job openings in the link below!

Download your free copy of our Construction Technology 2025 Report here https://www.fmctalent.com/gated-blog/construction-technology-salary-report-2025