A few years ago, fully remote marketing roles felt like the new normal.
Now? We’re quietly seeing more businesses move back towards hybrid working, particularly across marketing, creative, product, and commercial teams.
Not necessarily 5 days in the office.
Not a complete reversal.
But a noticeable shift.
A lot of the briefs landing with us over the last 12 months have some level of office expectation attached to them, whether that’s 1–2 days a week, specific collaboration days, or being close enough to travel in when needed.
And honestly, it’s changing candidate conversations too.
So, why is this happening?
From the hiring manager side, the reasons are usually less about “monitoring productivity” and more about collaboration.
Marketing rarely works in isolation.
The strongest teams are often the ones sitting closely with:
sales
product
leadership
customer success
creative teams
commercial stakeholders
Businesses are increasingly looking for marketers who can influence internally, move quickly, and contribute to wider business conversations, not just execute campaigns.
That can sometimes be harder to build remotely, especially in smaller or scaling businesses.
We’re also seeing a shift in priorities
A few years ago, fully remote working was often one of the first questions candidates asked.
Now, the conversations feel more balanced.
Candidates still value flexibility massively, but many are also considering:
team culture
development opportunities
visibility internally
mentorship
progression
feeling connected to a business again
Particularly for junior and mid-level marketers, being around experienced people in person can genuinely accelerate confidence and learning.
That doesn’t mean remote working is disappearing
There are still businesses making remote-first models work brilliantly.
Especially:
global teams
digital-first businesses
specialist technical marketing functions
companies hiring nationally rather than regionally
But fully remote opportunities are definitely becoming more competitive because there are fewer of them available.
When a genuinely remote marketing role lands now, applications tend to move very quickly.
What does this mean for candidates?
Honestly, flexibility is probably becoming more nuanced.
A lot of businesses aren’t looking for presenteeism. They’re looking for:
collaboration
communication
adaptability
relationship building
commercial alignment
And for candidates, there’s often a difference between:
“I need flexibility”
and
“I never want to work around a team again.”
The strongest applications we’re seeing tend to come from people who are open-minded about working styles and focused on finding the right environment overall, rather than filtering opportunities purely on remote status alone.
Final thoughts
The market hasn’t completely swung backwards.
But the conversation around remote working in marketing does feel more balanced than it did a couple of years ago.
For a lot of businesses, hybrid working seems to have become the middle ground that’s sticking.
And whether people love or hate that shift, it’s definitely one we’re continuing to see across the marketing hiring market.
Photo by Simon Abrams on Unsplash