Traverse Connect session to examine remote, hybrid and in-office work

Grand Traverse County employers are still recalibrating where work happens, and Traverse Connect is putting that pressure point at the center of its June 17 Economic Strategy Session. The discussion, titled The Future of Work - Remote, Hybrid, or Back to the Office?, will look at how remote, hybrid and in-office models are reshaping hiring, retention, office space and commuting in a county where talent competition is tied closely to quality of life.

Traverse Connect says its Economic Strategy Sessions are held three times a year and are meant to engage high-level investors and community leaders around its strategic plan. This session is being presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and supported by Munson Healthcare, underscoring how central workplace policy has become to the region’s economic outlook. A data-driven presentation from Networks Northwest will open the program.

That local data gives the conversation real weight. Networks Northwest’s regional remote and hybrid worker study drew nearly 800 survey respondents and found that 23% of the regional workforce is remote or hybrid. The study also found that 43% of the regional workforce would prefer to work remotely full time, even as the overall trend has shifted more toward hybrid work than fully remote work. For employers in Grand Traverse County, that split has direct implications for recruiting and keeping workers, especially in fields where candidates can compare local offers with jobs anywhere in Michigan or beyond.

The stakes are visible downtown Traverse City, where Hagerty announced in late 2025 that roughly 500 nearby employees would move from a remote-first model to a hybrid schedule in early 2026. Under that plan, workers are in the company’s downtown Traverse City headquarters three days a week, a move that could bolster weekday traffic for restaurants and retail while also affecting parking demand, commute patterns and office utilization. It is the kind of shift that can ripple far beyond one company’s payroll.

Traverse Connect has also described the Grand Traverse region as a place that can support remote workers with gig-fiber internet and coworking spaces, a reminder that the county is not just reacting to the future of work but trying to compete for it. For local employers, the practical question is no longer whether remote and hybrid arrangements matter. It is how many days in the office will be enough, what kinds of space companies are willing to keep, and whether smaller firms can match the flexibility larger employers can offer.