Hybrid work wins over remote among Americans, survey finds
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES — For the first time since the pandemic, Americans now prefer hybrid over fully remote work arrangements.
According to a Morning Consult survey of 6,625 U.S. adults, including 3,389 employed individuals, 29% said they preferred a hybrid model in 2024, up from 25% the previous year.
Meanwhile, the percentage favoring full remote work dropped from 27% to 23%.
“Four years ago, companies and workers were breathlessly talking about how remote work was the future,” Amy He, Morning Consult’s head of industry analysis and report author, told Fortune.
“Now four years later, companies and workers are kind of switching their tune a little bit.”
Despite various efforts by employers to lure employees back to the office — ranging from the promise of promotions to onsite perks — what really matters to employees are practical considerations such as childcare and commuting costs.
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“Getting free lunches and dinners—it’s nice, but it’s also smaller compared to the actual bigger costs and, more importantly, the immovable costs that come with having to go back to the office,” He said.
Fifty-five percent cited employer-paid childcare as a key factor for preferring in-office work. Meanwhile, a JW Surety Bonds survey revealed that 47% of remote workers would return to the office if offered housing benefits. Nearly 1 in 3 employees would prefer it over a pay raise.
With 80% of companies planning to request in-office attendance in some form by the end of 2024, workers are finding themselves adapting to new routines that offer different forms of flexibility, such as reduced commute times and enhanced work-life balance.
