Is the "work from home" era over in Boston? Why companies want to bring employees back to the office.

On Wednesday, Fidelity Investments announced plans to move its 80,000 global employees back to the office full-time starting this fall, including more than 6,000 employees in Boston.

"Fidelity's belief is that being physically together creates more opportunities for a meaningful associate experience filled with connection, mentorship, and learning—elements that are central to our long‑term success," the company said in part in a statement.

With one of Boston's top employers making the move back to in-person, some are wondering if it will set a trend. 

Are employees ready for full-time in-office work?

"I think being in the office is much better. I think working remotely is too impersonal," said Richard Gloovsky, a Boston lawyer who spoke with WBZ on his lunch break in Back Bay. "You don't have the same connection to people that you have when you are seeing them in person."

Others with hybrid work schedules – that is, some days in the office and others at home – say the mix offers flexibility and work-life balance. "I absolutely love it," said paralegal Courtney Stoico. "I think [companies] should keep it. I know there are companies that are going back full-time, like five days in the office. I think that's a poor choice."

"Working hybrid definitely, I think, has allowed us to expand our services and also gives people a little bit of flexibility," added Michael Davis, an employee for the mental health service Samaritans.

The work-from-home era brought on by necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic had a measurable impact on commuters. One look at MBTA data shows that on average, some 350,000 fewer people commute on the train daily now than did back in 2019.

So, will moving people back into their offices mean more traffic on the trains and the roads? It's unclear, but anecdotal reports show that Mondays and Fridays – typical "work from home" days – have measurably less road traffic.

"Having to commute an extra hour and a half there and a half back, so an extra three hours out of my day just to see you in person… not something I look forward to doing," said Michael Davis.

Reasons why companies want people back in the office

Experts say there are a number of reasons companies want to bring employees back: culture, productivity, and finances.

Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic wrote an article entitled "The Real Reason Companies Are Forcing You Back to the Office," and hypothesizes that there are pros and cons for each individual company and employee.

"One [reason] is that a lot of senior executives and leaders feel that if people aren't at the office, the culture might evaporate or dilute, you know, so it might disappear, and it's important for people to be in," Chamorro-Premuzic said. "The other is a trust crisis. Sometimes, you know, managers, leaders, if they don't see employees, they don't know what they're doing. There's generally a tendency for organizations to focus too much on measuring or tracking input or activity, as opposed to output."

Chamorro-Premuzic said there might be financial reasons for the move, too, like justifying expensive city office space. 

"Particularly CFOs say, 'look, we invested a lot of money in these glitzy offices,'" he said. "Generally, this happened, you know, pre-COVID, so even if temporarily people were allowed to work from home or in hybrid environment, now they feel like to get the ROI, you know, we invested in real estate, so people need to be in."

One other financial incentive? Avoiding layoffs, according to Northeastern Management & Organizational Development Professor Jayanth Narayanan. A forced return to work might inspire some employees to quit and look for work elsewhere. 

"Then you say, 'Oh, you know what? That's fewer number of people that I have to lay off, right?'" he said. "Maybe 5-10% of people will say, 'oh, I don't want to go back to work, I'll find something else.'"

In its statement, a Fidelity Investments spokesperson said, "Fidelity is continuously evolving its ways of working and physical footprint, including plans to continue hiring and increase capacity across our regions to ensure we provide the best products and services for our customers."

There is one faction that is thrilled about the idea of more people coming to the city for work – local service industry businesses.

"They are much more likely to go into coffee shops, cafés, libraries, and we are happy to have paying customers, of course," said Charlie Markella, a barista at Central Perk on Newbury Street.