CEOs expect workers to return in person five days a week by 2027, says KPMG

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Nearly eight in 10 CEOs expect all office workers with hybrid schedules to return to in-person work five days a week by 2027.

This statistic comes from the KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook Survey, which asked 400 US CEOs about the key challenges and opportunities driving business growth today.

Seventy-nine percent of U.S. CEOs said they expect a return to full-time office work for “corporate employees whose roles were traditionally office-based,” up from 34% who said the same in a CEO survey earlier this year.

“CEOs are increasingly favoring a comprehensive return to the office, but the need for flexibility remains,” said Paul Knopp, president and CEO of KPMG USA.

KPMG also found that 89% of CEOs also see an aging workforce “affecting their organization’s recruitment, retention and overall employee culture.”

Knopp said the results showed that “the primary focus of CEOs remains to anticipate and stay ahead of combined and interrelated risks.”

“CEOs are strategically allocating capital to address cyber and geopolitical risks that can cause sudden business disruptions in the short term, while making long-term investments in GenAI and M&A to drive future growth,” according to the report.

The shoe might not fit at Nike — at least not right away

In a great upheaval, Nike is getting a new CEOa move that sparked both optimism and skepticism from Wall Street.

With current CEO John Donahoe stepping down and longtime veteran Elliott Hill taking the reins, some analysts see the change as a positive.

Deutsche Bank is on board. “We believe this much-anticipated leadership change will inject a much-needed sense of urgency, focusing on product innovation, storytelling, marketing and rebuilding wholesale partnerships – areas that suffered under previous leadership, resulting in significant performance in terms of profitability and shareholder returns,” the bank said.

However, other experts have expressed doubts that the change will address the underlying issues plaguing the iconic brand, such as falling sales, increasing competition and struggles to innovate. Read about How long some analysts think it will take to tie up those loose ends.

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