CareerBuilder Data Shows 39% of Women Still Prefer Working From Home as More Employers Call for a Return to the Office

The workplace continues to evolve, but for women, the ideal location for work is still remote

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% of women say that home offices are more valuable as opposed to men (30%) who prefer a company-provided office as their ideal workplace.

The pandemic quickly 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% of men, embrace this return, others say their ideal location lies elsewhere. The data shows that 34% of employed adults prefer a home office compared to 27% of employees who list a company-provided office as their top choice. Generationally speaking, 20% of Gen Z, 35% of Millennials and 44% of Boomers all prefer to work from home.

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The survey also revealed that 26% of employees, primarily Gen Z (44%) and Millennials (30%), lean more toward a non-traditional work location:

• 13% prefer an outdoor area or patio
• 9% use a co-working space with other businesses
• 4% 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.”

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Additionally, employees are not willing to travel far for work should they need to go to a physical workplace. More than 3 in 5 employees (66%) say they are only willing to commute a total of 30 minutes or less, with women and Boomers among those most likely to note this. While another third of workers (34%) are willing to commute more than 30 minutes to work and very few (7%) agree to travel over an hour.

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