--- title: "Oklahoma State Employees Resist Return to Office Due…" canonical: "https://beta.metaintro.com/blog/oklahoma-remote-work-survey" language: "en" author: "henryrussel" published: "2025-05-23T11:30:00.000Z" modified: "2025-05-24T19:31:41.913Z" --- [Back to Blog](/blog) [News](/blog/tag/news) # Oklahoma State Employees Resist Return to Office Due to Space Shortages Around 8,000 Oklahoma state employees remain remote despite a back-to-office push, citing lack of office space. [![Henry Russell](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/f5e58760-861d-453c-8acc-e70ec1958bd8_1766029465093.png)Henry Russell @henryrussell](/blog/author/henryrussel) [May 23, 2025](/blog/archive/2025/05)3 min read ![Oklahoma State Employees Resist Return to Office Due to Space Shortages](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/office-12.png) [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey&title=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey&title=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages)[mailto:?subject=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&body=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey](mailto:?subject=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&body=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey) ## Still Remote in OK In the realm of Oklahoma state offices, the order for a full return to in-person work has not gone as planned. Despite Gov. Kevin Stitt’s executive decision mandating employees to come back in December, around 8,000 state employees are still riding the remote work train. That’s roughly one in four of the 26,000 employees covered by the state's latest report. Why the hold-up? The lack of office space is a big reason many employees are still remote. It seems you can order people back to work, but making space magically appear is another trick altogether. Most of these employees work in departments that simply didn’t have enough desks or chairs to go around. With these logistical hitches, the work-from-home life continues, at least for now. ## The Data Tells All Back in December, Stitt expected a full return to physical offices, but numbers tell a different story. Almost 8,000 state employees are still taking [Zoom](https://www.zoom.com/) calls from their couches. That’s a hefty 30% of the workforce finding exceptions within the executive order’s fine print. The governor’s team pegged these exceptions on inadequate office space, which has been a challenging puzzle for several agencies. While some offices are inevitably cramped or shared with other state entities, others have adapted permanent hybrid models, blending in-person and remote work in innovative ways. The state’s continued flexibility reflects a broader shift in workplace norms. According to a [Gallup](https://www.gallup.com/home.aspx) poll, as of February 2023, approximately 50% of full-time workers in the U.S. reported having a hybrid work arrangement, bolstering the idea that the office is not the singular bastion of productivity it once was. --- Ad## ✨ A Word From Our Sponsors 👇 🌞 If job search blues had a cure, it’d be this newsletter. Click [here.](https://met.sh/R7Xji) --- ## Room to (Work From) Home In a surprising twist to the traditional backdrop of desk-based work culture, this dance of accommodation and adaptation could have lasting ripple effects. Flexibility in work arrangements is now a valued commodity. Not just for private sector employees but also for those on the state’s payroll. Take, for example, the [Oklahoma Tax Commission](https://oklahoma.gov/tax.html), which found itself without adequate space to meet the in-person requirement. Rather than cramming employees like sardines, they've leveraged digital tools and adjusted their protocol. It’s a page out of the tech startup playbook but with an Oklahoma twang. As agencies continue to evaluate their long-term needs, the blend of remote arrangements will likely persist. In doing so, they might not just be saving on office costs but inadvertently boosting employee satisfaction. The hybrid model isn’t just a trend—it’s an evolving state of work equality and efficiency. For more insights, be sure to subscribe to Metaintro [here](https://met.sh/pA7oV). ### Share this article [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey&title=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey&title=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages)[mailto:?subject=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&body=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey](mailto:?subject=Oklahoma%20State%20Employees%20Resist%20Return%20to%20Office%20Due%20to%20Space%20Shortages&body=https%3A%2F%2Fbeta.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Foklahoma-remote-work-survey) ![](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:800/q:30/plain/images/bridges/bridge-expand.1df895c6bd76d96f.png) For job seekers ## Ready to find a role that actually fits? 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