CareerBuilder, a global talent acquisition leader and job marketplace, shared findings from a recent survey on workplace preferences confirming that while employers are increasingly calling for a return to the office, women, in particular, favor the flexibility that comes with remote work. In fact, 39 percent of women say home offices are more valuable as opposed to men (30 percent) who prefer a company-provided office as their ideal workplace.
The pandemic uprooted employees from offices to working from home and this two-year transition has shifted the view of a traditional office for many workers. While some employees, including 31 percent of men, embrace this return, others say their ideal location lies elsewhere. The data show that 34 percent of employed adults prefer a home office compared to 27 percent of employees who list a company-provided office as their top choice. Generationally speaking, 20 percent of Gen Z, 35 percent of Millennials and 44 percent of Boomers all prefer to work from home.
The survey also revealed that 26 percent of employees, primarily Gen Z (44 percent) and Millennials (30 percent), lean more toward a non-traditional work location:
- 13 percent prefer an outdoor area or patio
- 9 percent use a co-working space with other businesses
- 4 percent go to a coffee shop to work
“Back-to-office mandates are proving challenging for both the employer and the employee, as cultures and values continue to shift,” said Kristin Kelley, chief marketing officer at CareerBuilder. “Expectations and employee needs have changed over the last two years, requiring many employers to adopt new rules for in-office attendance, meeting requests and even workday hours. To better attract and retain talent, employers have needed to adjust schedules and expectations to meet employees where they’re at, especially if retention is of utmost importance.”
Additionally, employees are not willing to travel far for work should they need to go to a physical workplace. More than three in five employees (66 percent) say they are willing to commute a total of only 30 minutes or less, with women and Boomers among those most likely to note this. While another third of workers (34 percent) are willing to commute more than 30 minutes to work and very few (7 percent) agree to travel over an hour.
This survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder. For more information on CareerBuilder, visit CareerBuilder.com.
