September 2020. The first lockdown wave is behind us, and the “zero-interest-rate” era is just beginning. Companies are realizing that as people spend more time indoors, the demand for online products and services is exploding.
Suddenly, geography doesn’t matter much anymore. Can you code? Do you have solid experience and a decent online presence? Do you have good communication skills?
For a moment, the world felt borderless. A designer in Lisbon could work for a startup in Berlin. A developer in Athens could join a U.S. company without ever setting foot outside their apartment. It was messy, improvised, and imperfect — but it worked.
November 2025. Most companies have quietly (or not so quietly) rolled back their remote work policies, citing reasons ranging from “team cohesion” to “productivity concerns.”
Hybrid work became the new compromise. Full onsite, the default again. At best, you might skip a couple of commutes a week. But forget the “light digital nomad” lifestyle — the dream of living in Southern Italy while working for a Dutch or German company is fading fast.
So, how did we get here?
As an avid observer of workplace trends, and a news junkie/consumer, I’ve identified three key factors that contributed to the decline of remote work’s popularity:
1. The shaping of public opinion
Every major social or technological shift triggers debate. Remote work was no exception. There were those for it, and those against it — but the latter had the louder microphones.
How else do you explain that, at the peak of remote work’s popularity, most opinion pieces framed it as dangerous, isolating, or unsustainable?
Behind the scenes, the incentives were clear. Real estate developers, commercial landlords, and city governments all had skin in the game. Entire ecosystems — public transport, downtown restaurants, office maintenance — depended on people physically showing up. Remote work disrupted that.
And so began a subtle but effective campaign: through op-eds, “studies,” and panel discussions, the narrative shifted. Remote work wasn’t the future; it was a temporary pandemic experiment that had “gone too far.”
2. The power shift in the job market
During the pandemic, the job market was hot. Tech talent was scarce. Employers competed by offering remote flexibility and higher salaries.
But by 2023–2024, the tide turned. Economic slowdowns, rising costs, and widespread layoffs flipped the balance of power.
Companies, once desperate to retain talent, suddenly had leverage again.
“If you don’t like our onsite policy, there’s someone else who will.”
What was a hard demand in 2021 became a soft request by 2025. And as fear replaced optimism, many accepted the new normal without much resistance.
3. The myth of the “remote lifestyle”
The public image of remote work didn’t do it any favors.
For years, social media portrayed a fantasy — people working from beaches, traveling nonstop, living out of vans, laptops balanced on café tables overlooking sunsets.
Have you tried coding on a beach, or a noisy café by the way? I tried it once. It was a disaster.
Images like the one above made remote work look unserious. Easy to mock. Easy to dismiss.
Meanwhile, the real picture was far less glamorous: most people were working longer hours, juggling childcare, doing laundry between calls, struggling with boundaries, and feeling the weight of isolation.
The average remote worker wasn’t in Bali. They were in a one-bedroom apartment, taking meetings from the kitchen table and realizing that “flexibility” often meant being always available.
That misrepresentation gave employers an easy argument:
“See? It doesn’t work long term. Productivity drops. People are disconnected.”
Even when, in reality, many were more productive than ever.
And a personal note
I embraced remote work wholeheartedly. It allowed me to be closer to family, and explore the move back to my home country after years abroad. The remote work years were some of the most productive and fulfilling of my career. During these years, I grew more than I had in the previous decade combined. Not only that, but I also managed to organize my life better, focus on health, and pursue side projects that enriched my skills. That is my personal truth.
The bottom line
Remote work didn’t fail - it was reframed. Through narrative, economics, and perception, it was slowly turned from a symbol of progress into a “privilege.”
But the desire it revealed - for autonomy, flexibility, and trust - hasn’t disappeared. It’s just waiting for the next swing of the pendulum.
Because if history shows anything, it’s that work trends are cyclical. The future of work will likely blend the best of both worlds, but the journey there will be anything but linear.