People with Children at Home No More Likely to Want to Work Remotely Less than those without Children at Home
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 16, 2022) – The pandemic created a seismic shift in not only where and how Americans work but also in where and how they would prefer to work. And after nearly two years, the data on whether Americans prefer to work 100% in-person work, 100% remote work or in a hybrid environment (i.e., both in-person and remotely) is quite surprising.
New survey data from Yoh, a leading international talent and outsourcing company and part of Day & Zimmermann, shows that a majority of Americans would prefer to retain their current working environment with those working 100% remotely preferring to stay remote, those in hybrid working environments preferring the flexibility of in-person and remote work, and those who work 100% in-person* preferring to remain in an in-person setting. The survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh, among 900 Americans ages 18+ who are employed full-time or part-time.
Results from the survey found:
Of people who currently work remotely 100% of the time, nearly 2x as many people say they prefer to remain fully remote (62%) versus those preferring to go to a hybrid environment (32%) and more than 10x as many as those who want to work fully in person (6%).
Of those who work in a hybrid environment, a majority say they prefer to remain in a hybrid environment (54%), while fewer say they prefer to work fully remote (30%) or prefer to work fully in-person (16%).
Finally, data for those who work in-person 100% of the time show that this group is slightly more likely to prefer to remain 100% in-person (42%) than those who prefer hybrid (30%) and those who prefer 100% remote environments (28%).
“The ability to adapt to this new normal in the workforce has opened plenty of avenues for the today’s workforce and today’s employers alike. Workers have shown the ability to accomplish tasks in any environment, be it from home, the office, or a hybrid working model. If these results show us anything it’s that employers shouldn’t assume they know what employees want and should instead offer a variety of work structures that allow workers to choose the model that’s best for them,” said Emmett McGrath, President of Yoh. “At Yoh, we work with businesses across industries to analyze their current hiring needs and develop a plan and structure to fill their hiring gaps in a time when highly skilled talent is at a premium. And on the other side, we work closely with candidates to find roles that fit their specific skillsets, employment structures and job responsibilities.”
Additional findings from this survey include:
- Employed adults with children in their household don’t want to work remotely any more than employed adults without children in the household.
In a bit of a surprise, those with children at home are no more likely to want to work from home than those without children at home (19% vs. 20%). Those with children in the household prefer hybrid work environments over 100% remote and 100% in-person work (20% vs. 19% and 9%).
- Women who work-in person 100% of the time are 2.5x more likely than men who work in-person 100% of the time to say they would prefer to go remote.
Among women who work in person 100% of the time and can do their job remotely, 7% say they would prefer to work remotely 100% of the time, while just 2% of men who work in person 100% of the time and can do their job remotely feel the same.
- Those with a lower household income are most likely to work in-person 100% of the time and prefer to remain that way.
Employed adults with a household income of $50K or less are up to 4x more likely than those with higher household incomes to say they work in person 100% of the time (and can do their job remotely) and prefer to work in person 100% of the time (12% vs 5% with household income of $50K-$74.9K, 3% with household income of $75K-$99.9K and 5% with household income of $100K or more).
*Data reported for those working 100% in-person excludes those who are unable to do their job remotely.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh between February 3-7, 2022, among 900 US adults ages 18+ who are employed full-time or part-time. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Allen Vickers at allen@gobraithwaite.com.