According to a new survey from Eagle Hill Consulting, half of U.S. workers said they would prefer to work for a company that offers remote and hybrid work flexibility. In addition, half of workers said they would consider looking for a new job if their employer limited remote and hybrid work flexibility. Specifically, 61% of Gen Z workers said they would do so—the highest among all generations.

Additionally, only 30% of workers said their employer asked them for their opinion on what flexibility they would prefer when it comes to remote and hybrid work, while 67% said remote work improves company culture. Workers also said their biggest concerns about more in-person work were work-life balance (48%), commute time (41%), increased costs (36%), stress (33%) and satisfaction (26%).

This research comes as many employers continue to increase on-site work, while others use flexible working arrangements to attract and retain employees in a continuing tight labor market.

The survey also found that employees recognize the value of working in person. A large portion of workers (56%) said those who work more in the office than remotely are likely to be more successful in their jobs. The vast majority (85%) of workers said team building is better handled in person, as are integrating new team members (84%), training and managing teams (78%), onboarding (74%), starting a new project (76%), getting a project back on track (74%), performance reviews (68%), meetings (65%), giving and receiving feedback (63%), brainstorming (62%) and IT support (54%).

The investigation also found:

• Benefits of returning to work, according to employees, include increased social interaction (46%), the ability to leave work at work (35%), improved collaboration (33%) and increased productivity (32%).
• Employees are divided on whether employers should track their attendance to ensure compliance with company remote work policies. More than half (51%) want their attendance to be tracked, while 49% do not.
• More than a third (34%) of employees are willing to give up a permanent job in order to be able to work more from home. Only 17% would give up salary in order to work more from home.
• Nearly three-quarters (71%) of employees said someone they work directly with makes their decisions about remote work flexibility.