UK fintech company Revolut announced that, starting in 2027, interns and participants in a program for recent graduates will be required to work in the office at least three days a week. The policy applies only to early-career workers, while other employees will retain the flexibility to choose between remote or in-person work.
Why the Change?
Revolut justifies the decision by emphasizing the value of in-person learning for junior employees. "You don't just learn from your manager telling you what to do. You actually observe how other people conduct their work," said Queenie Li, the company's head of talent programs. Research broadly supports the idea that early-career employees benefit from in-person mentorship and informal learning.
The Broader Context
The move comes amid a broader debate over why entry-level hiring has become more challenging for recent graduates. For decades, young college graduates in their early to mid-20s had lower unemployment rates than the overall workforce. However, since late 2018, this demographic has faced higher jobless rates, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Remote Work vs. AI: The Debate
Labor market observers are divided over the primary factors contributing to this trend. Some researchers argue that the rise of remote work has made it harder for employers to onboard and train entry-level workers. Peter John Lambert, a postdoctoral research fellow at the London School of Economics and the University of Warwick, and his colleague Yannick Schindler of the UK's Ellison Institute of Technology found that the share of entry-level hires fell by as much as 29% in recent years. Their analysis suggests that remote work better explains this decline than artificial intelligence.
Others, however, contend that AI and automation are playing a larger role in reducing demand for entry-level positions. The debate remains unresolved, with no clear consensus on which factor is more significant.