As offices reopen after COVID-19, more companies will let employees work from home or hire workers who live far away

Corporate America is reopening its offices as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes.

But many workers won’t be there.

Seventy-two percent of companies say employees will be able to return to the workplace over the next five months, with 50% reopening between August and October, according to a Conference Board survey of 231 human resource leaders April 5-16. The results were provided exclusively to USA TODAY.

Yet 79% of the mostly large businesses say 10% or more of their employees will be able to work remotely at least three days a week a year after the pandemic subsides. That compares with 26% of firms that permitted staffers to primarily work from home before the health crisis.