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

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Sep 15, 2022, 12:00 ET

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

CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.

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."

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.

This survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder. For more information on CareerBuilder, visit CareerBuilder.com.

About CareerBuilder

CareerBuilder is a global talent marketplace that provides talent acquisition solutions to help employers find, hire and onboard great talent, and helps job seekers build new skills and progressive careers as the modern world of work changes. CareerBuilder has 25 years of experience as a talent company using technology to place people in jobs, and it is the only company with both the technology, through its online platform, and the candidates via its job site, to create a connected end-to-end experience. CareerBuilder also owns Broadbean and Workterra companies and operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia serving the majority of the Fortune 500 across five specialized markets. CareerBuilder is majority-owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. For more information, visit careerbuilder.com, and to learn more about our solutions for employers, visit hiring.careerbuilder.com.

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SOURCE CareerBuilder