Top Software Engineers Choosing Remote Jobs, Challenging Return-to-Office Mandates

As more leaders pursue return-to-office mandates, remote work is emerging as a cheat code to level up software engineering quality. Although our 2025 Top Cities to Hire Software Engineers report crowned Washington, D.C. as the top city in the U.S., D.C. would have taken second if “remote” was considered a city. Candidates interviewing for remote roles produced the highest concentration of elite talent (44%) than any other market in the U.S. 

The pandemic made remote work the norm for many, and despite an increasing number of return-to-office (RTO) mandates, tech workers don’t want to go back. Top software engineers, in particular, have their choice of jobs and can successfully resist company mandates, creating both a challenge and opportunity for organizations. 

The Tradeoff Between Return-to-Office and Talent

As more time has passed since the height of the pandemic, companies have continued to evolve their employee policies and are increasingly requiring workers to return to the office. Tech giants like Amazon, AT&T, and Dell require employees to be in the office five days a week, while other companies, such as Meta and Google, have implemented hybrid policies. 

However, this is at odds with what employees want. Over half (57%) of surveyed remote workers said they would “absolutely” look for a new job if they weren’t allowed to continue working remotely. After Amazon announced that workers would need to be in offices five days a week, 73% of surveyed Amazon employees said they were considering looking for a new job and 80% reported knowing a colleague who was considering looking for another job because of the announcement. 

Hiring leaders that expect productivity gains from RTO need to recognize that they may end up losing top talent. It may be more difficult to recruit the best software engineers, and companies that have imposed RTO mandates have 13% higher annual employee turnover rates than companies that are more supportive of remote work. Another trend worth monitoring is who is leaving. In addition to elite-performing candidates, female employees, more senior employees, and more skilled employees are also more likely to be seeking flexible opportunities. This is because more senior or skilled employees find it easier to secure another job with more flexible working policies. 

The Advantage for Remote-Friendly Companies

While the high concentration of elite software engineering talent that works remotely is a challenge for companies that want workers back in the office, it’s an opportunity for those willing to embrace remote work. They can poach engineers who are hesitant to go back to daily commutes and level up their engineering quality. Startups or smaller companies that are more flexible could grab top-tier software engineers who are leaving corporations with more rigid policies. 

There are other benefits to remote work too. Companies save an average of $11,000 per remote employee, remote workers are 13% more productive, and 75% of remote workers say they have a better work-life balance. For software engineers, remote work eliminates the distractions and interruptions that often occur in an open office environment and are the bane of their productivity. 

This trend in remote talent isn’t the only trend that hiring managers need to be aware of this year if they want to hire skilled engineers. To discover other shifts in where elite software engineering talent is located, download the full 2025 Top Cities to Hire Software Engineers report.