Why remote workers will come under fresh scrutiny this autumn
As the return to office has dominated the agenda, home working has quietly slipped down the list. This autumn, a potent mix of politics, policy and AI could push it back to the top
Amid the scramble to consolidate the return to office, home working has slipped onto the back burner this year. As companies have staked their futures on getting more employees to spend more time at their desks, less attention has been given to rhythms of remote work.
But that could change this autumn as a powerful cocktail of politics, policies and AI affects how homeworking is viewed.
On the surface, the picture is remarkably stable. Professor Nick Bloom of Stanford University has shown that homeworking held constant between 2023 and 2025, even as RTO ramped up. This year, despite ever stricter mandates, the dial has barely moved: work from home accounts for around 40% of the working week for professional knowledge workers and 30% for all workers globally.
But that steadiness masks a more turbulent reality. Homeworking is a contested practice rather than a right, and increasingly a political wedge issue between Left and Right.
Executive order
The political wrangling is striking. In the US, the administration has taken a hard line on federal agencies working remotely: on his first day back in the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order demanding a full-time return to in-person work for all federal staff.
The UK is heading the other way. In September, Louise Haigh, a leading member of the UK Government, told the Trade Union Congress in September that new workers’ rights will be introduced to make it easier to work flexibly. Company bosses will be required by law to sit down and discuss requests for flexible working with employees, rather than simply ticking a box marked ‘no’. There will also be a reasonable test to guide their decision making, making it harder to reject sensible requests.
As Haigh pointed out, ‘Life isn’t always as neat as we’d like it to be or as employers would like it to be. There’s kids to pick up, parents to look after, families who rely on us at short notice.’
Complex picture
It would be easy to say the US administration is siding with those big corporate CEOs who fly into a rage at mere mention of the word ‘remote’, while Labour lines up in the UK with the unions who exist to extend worker rights – and that the two forces cancel each other out.
That would be too simple. CEOs make a valid point that remote work can erode culture, continuity and collaboration. Unions are right that family-friendly policies matter. The real damage comes from the constant argument itself, which undermines the value of homeworking.
If work from home remains unsettled, and HR teams expect it to attract stigma or controversy sooner or later, companies cannot embed a longer term hybrid policy with any certainty or conviction.
Impact of AI
Further flak for remote work is now coming from a different direction: the impact of AI.
There’s a growing belief that fully remote roles are more at risk from AI than those that require some in-person interaction.
Stanford’s Nick Bloom certainly thinks so, arguing that digital-only work without human connection is the most vulnerable as the bots take over. He advises spending time with colleagues at least once a month.
Whether or not the threat of AI is a scare tactic aimed at forcing those who have gone fully remote to show up occasionally in the office, it is clear that home working will be more front of mind this autumn. And it’s not only about technology, mandates or policy. It’s also about energy.
With the US-Iran conflict showing no sign of a quick resolution that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring down fuel prices, governments around the world are weighing up ways to contain energy costs, including curbing the commute. Some Gulf states are already pursuing such measures.
If that scenario plays out, homeworking will really be back in the driving seat, however loudly company bosses complain.
