FAccording to a new national survey from Eagle Hill Consulting, 50 percent of U.S. workers say they 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. This was highest among Gen Z workers (61%).
Only 30% of employees said their employer asked them about their preferences regarding flexible remote working and hybrid work, while 67% said remote working improves company culture. Employees said their biggest concerns about remote working were work-life balance (48%), commuting time (41%), increased costs (36%), stress (33%) and their satisfaction (26%).
This research comes as many employers continue to increase on-site work, while others use flexible working arrangements to attract and retain workers in a continuing tight labor market.
The nationwide survey of U.S. workers also shows that workers recognize the value of working in person. A large portion of workers (56%) said those who work in the office more than remotely are more likely to be successful in their jobs. 85% of workers said team building is more successful 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 revealed the following:
- Employees reported benefits of returning to work including increased social interactions (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 telework policies, with 51 percent wanting their attendance to be tracked and 49 percent opposed.
- 34 percent of employees are willing to give up a permanent job in order to be able to work more from home. Only 17 percent would forego salary in order to work more from home.
- 71 percent of employees said someone they work directly with makes their decisions about remote work flexibility.
The results are based on Eagle Hill Consulting’s Workplace Flexibility Survey 2024, last conducted by Ipsos from June 4-7, 2024. The survey included 1,453 respondents from a random sample of workers across the United States and asked about their views on working in a remote workplace.
