ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — During the COVID-19 pandemic this past year, many companies shifted operations to allow employees to work remotely. But as some of those same employees get the call to return, there's pushback.

New studies, like one just out of Harvard Business School, indicate the majority of those who have been working from home want flexibility moving forward, with 81 percent saying they either don’t want to go back to the office or want a hybrid schedule.

“Let’s face it. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t want to come back,” The Vested Group founder Joel Patterson said. “I think we’ve flipped the script on that, and we’ll be a hybrid work environment for the long haul. There’s no question there’s going to be a shake-up.”

"More conversations about volatility” when it comes to personnel already have taken place, and some resignations will be inevitable as employees are called back to the office, Patterson said.

Ross Lent is one of those people, readying to return to the office in Maitland in July.

“One group is going to be working in the office Monday and Tuesday, the other group working from Wednesday to Thursday,” he said. “They’re going to increase our days in the office one day at a time until they reach four days in the office."

For the past year, Lent adapted to working from home, setting up a private office in the back of the house after his human resources and payroll company sent him additional computer screens.

“I consider myself a fairly sociable person, so the first couple of months I’m sitting in my chair like, ‘Oh boy,’ ” he recalled with a chuckle. “It’s been an adjustment. It’s been nice being able to work from home, thankful to have the opportunity to work from home, because I know so many people didn’t have that option.”

Lent especially loved the quality time with his family, including his newborn son, Cameron.

“If I had to step aside for two minutes to go change a diaper, I was able to do it,” he said. "Being able to toss a load of laundry in the washer. It takes a minute of my time, and I don’t have to worry about doing it later in the day. So, I feel like I have more time with my family.”

Engineer Kyle Eudene, too, relished the extra time with his family while he worked from home and cared for his newborn.

“I tell her she is the shiniest silver lining there could have been,” Eudene said of his daughter. “When the pandemic started, we learned we were expecting, so we were trying to integrate that with two people working from home in a house that has one office.”

But all that changed for the Winter Garden family as Eudene recently returned to the office, now four to five days per week.

“I had an agreement with my employer I would work remotely until I received my vaccine,” he said. “Once I got vaccinated, I began going into the office.”

Eudene said he felt “revitalized” by the shift. He’s enjoyed time interacting with colleagues and his time with family after work became even more precious.

As for what the post-pandemic future holds in terms of hybrid work schedules, a novel concept for some companies, business management consultant Patterson cautions companies to be flexible themselves.

“The most important thing companies need to be thinking about right now is what their policy is and what happens if people don’t follow the policy,” he said. “Not feel like you have to throw down the gauntlet, and everybody’s coming back three, four days a week and 'I don’t want to hear anything else.' You’re not going to get a great response from your employees if you do it that way.”

Patterson said he thinks that while various companies will employ their respective policies regarding work from home, how we work is different forever.

“Working from home has changed their perspective, for some. They’re like, ‘Wow, this opens up a whole other world I can work in,’ ” he said. "I don’t think we’re going to go back to a full time in the office (model)."