Most companies in Russia will tighten the rules for remote work in 2026

In 2026, 62% of employers will return employees to the office and tighten the rules of removal. The corresponding study, which was reviewed by Izvestia on February 18, was conducted by the Russian educational platform Defin and the online job search assistant AIMIKA.

The survey was conducted among 3,500 managers and HR directors of small, medium and large businesses. According to its results, 62% of companies in Russia intend to increase the number of mandatory days of employee presence in the office.

Among them, 27% of employers plan to introduce a four-day working week in the office, and 35% of respondents want to establish a rigid hybrid schedule with three fixed days.

At the same time, only 14% of entrepreneurs intend to maintain a completely remote work format. Another 24% of the study participants said they would leave the current hybrid model unchanged.

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Employers cited a decrease in team manageability as the main factor for tightening the rules, as stated by 48% of respondents. Other reasons include a drop in the speed of decision-making, reduced employee engagement, and difficulties in monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs). About 18% of the respondents also noted a deterioration in the quality of customer service due to the remote mode.

Also, as measures to control the workflow, 52% of companies plan to introduce a clear schedule of office presence. Another 37% of respondents plan to reduce the total number of remote days, and 21% of employers plan to completely cancel the remote format for new employees. Some organizations are also considering the possibility of linking the right to be removed to the implementation of KPIs or a review of salary policy.

In addition, according to the results of the study, it turned out that company executives are aware of the possible negative consequences of canceling flexible schedules. Almost half of the respondents, about 46%— expect an increase in staff turnover. Another 34% of entrepreneurs believe that this will lead to higher salaries in those companies that will be able to offer job seekers more loyal working conditions.

A significant part of the respondents — 27% — are afraid of facing a negative reaction from employees and a sharp drop in their involvement in tasks. Nevertheless, business representatives stressed that returning to offices is a necessary measure due to the labor market situation.

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On February 17, it was reported that an employer can assign other people's duties to an employee if it is stipulated in his employment contract or for an additional fee. However, if this clause is not in the contract, then the employee can do someone else's work for an additional fee.

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