Companies are moving away from fully remote work policies, according to new data, with hybrid setups gaining traction and return-to-office (RTO) requirements emerging as the most common model ― and Dallas is no exception.
Nationally, 87% of jobs are now entirely in-office, according to a JobLeads report, which evaluated more than 5 million United States job postings. Despite steady demand, hybrid and fully remote roles suffered a dramatic decline, accounting for only 7% and 6%, respectively.
Dallas showed similar findings: The JobLeads report found that 85% are fully in-office positions, while hybrid and exclusively remote policies represent a 9% and 6%, respectively.
The drop in flexible work arrangements isn’t accidental. The COVID-19 pandemic popularized remote work worldwide, but the golden era of working from home is coming to an end. Companies have leaned into RTO, seeking better collaboration, culture and mentoring as their main reasons.
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Hybrid and remote options fluctuate depending in part on the strength of the job market, according to a 2025 LinkedIn analysis. Companies offer more remote and hybrid jobs when the hiring needs are higher, and workers have more leverage.
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However, since the pandemic-era heyday, the jobs market has frozen solid, layoffs are picking up, with employers offering fewer flexible-location roles ― and demanding workers come into the office more.
Labor market tightness in the U.S., according to LinkedIn, returned to pre-pandemic levels in early 2024, and has remained stable since. Still, among job seekers, the demand for remote roles persists.
While some industry experts suggest companies should continue to offer this approach to stay ahead in the job market, the reality has proven quite different. In key industries, big companies have increasingly instituted in-office requirements of 4-5 days a week – much to the consternation of their employees.
Both reports show that around 23% of U.S. job applicants prefer remote-only jobs, yet only 6% of open roles across the nation offer that option.
As an alternative, firms opted for hybrid models as the preferred flexibility incentive, but RTO policies are here to stay, said Job Leads’ managing director, Martin Schmidt.
“Employers won’t be moving away from offices anymore, but they are selectively using hybrid to stay competitive,” Schmidt said in a statement.
Dallas offers a 9% hybrid rate, higher than other Texas cities like Houston (7%) and San Antonio ( 4%). Still, Dallas maintains a largely office-first structure.
“Dallas shows how hybrid has become the preferred flexibility lever under RTO,” Schmidt said in a statement.
A growing number of firms are joining this initiative.
Giants like Amazon, Walmart and Dell announced their RTO mandates for 2025, serving as examples for many smaller organizations.
Uber, for example, has shifted towards an office-first model, said Ryan Thornton, Uber’s corporate communications manager.
“All non-remote employees spend at least three days per week in person in the office, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as anchor days across the company, ” Thornton said in a statement. “Every employee also has the opportunity to work from anywhere for up to four weeks per year.”
In Dallas, Southwest Airlines took a similar approach, now requiring many corporate employees to come into the office up to five days a week.
Having spent $67 million to expand its Dallas office space, according to CoStar, Southwest wants to utilize the space rather than letting it sit empty.
Tighter market, less flexibility
A higher share of the labor force is actively seeking work compared to last year. However, despite workers’ noticeable preference for remote positions, the demands of employers and a much tighter job market suggest many may need to adjust to the new realities of the marketplace.
As of December 2025, 4.4% of Americans were unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it harder for candidates to demand their preferred work arrangement.
As a result, flexible work has become a mid-career privilege, according to JobLeads, and is more accessible to those in the $125k-$150k salary band.