NAREIM Member Survey: Hybrid work practices 

Results. March 5, 2025

More than 40% of real estate investment managers expect to be back in the office four days a week within the next six to 12 months, according to the latest NAREIM member survey.

NAREIM’s survey on hybrid work practices revealed 42% of managers are currently back in the office three-days a week, but that firms widely expect that to increase to four days per week – and even to five – over the coming six to 12 months.

The member survey is an update on NAREIM’s hybrid work practices poll conducted in September 2024. The update survey saw participation from 52 firms between February 21 and 26 and provide insights into current practices and expectations on in-office requirements as well as policies around remote work and benefits.

To download a copy of the results, click here.

Key highlights include:

• 4-days a week: The results show that as of today, just 25% of managers require employees to be in the office four days a week. However, that is expected to increase over the next six to 12 months, with 42% of managers expecting their firms to be in the office four days a week within the next year.

• 5-days a week: The same trend is seen among managers requiring employees to be in the office five days a week. Today, 17% of managers have in-office requirements for five days. In six to 12 months time, that is expected to rise to roughly a quarter (25%).

• 3-days a week: According to the survey results, six months ago more than half of managers (54%) required employees to be in the office three days a week. Today that figure is 42% and is expected to be just 22% within the next year.

The survey results can be downloaded by visiting the NAREIM website. Click here.

Other key takeaways from the member survey show:

• Drivers for change: The preservation of firm culture was cited as the primary reason for changing in-office requirements, according to NAREIM members, followed by the need to bring people together to innovate, collaborate and ensure professional development.

• Monitoring: Most firms (79%) monitor in-office requirements through informal means, typically through managers or department head monitoring, with just 5% of managers utilizing a technology solution such as a badge or card swipes.

While most firms do allow some workers to be fully remote, managers revealed that there are multiple criteria for allowing remote work. Two-thirds of managers cited job function as the primary driver behind allowing fully remote work, followed by requiring a minimum performance level.

In open answer questions, managers also said they often allowed fully remote workers when staff were in new and/or unique locations without an office or to gain a competitive advantage in recruitment.

Benefits

The survey also revealed that managers have used educational assistance and student loan repayments as an additional benefit to help alleviate increasing or changing hybrid work practices.

 

According to the survey, 30% of firms leant more into tuition and education as a non-compensation benefit following hybrid changes. That was followed by meal stipends or free lunches (26%) and enhanced training and recognition programs (13% respectively). 

The survey results can be downloaded by visiting the NAREIM website. Click here.

NAREIM members often reach out to ask their peers about pressing concerns impacting their business. Hybrid work policies – whether employees are allowed to work from home or if they have in-office requirements -- are again at the forefront of managers’ minds as firms look to improve firm culture and efficiencies. A total of 52 member organizations representing more than 12,000 FTEs submitted data in this member survey, which was conducted between February 21 and February 26, 2025.

This survey is an update of a previous NAREIM hybrid work member survey from September 2024. To access the September 2024 results, click here.