Home or office? The impact of home and office attributes on workplace decisions in hybrid working

Abstract

In a hybrid working context, employees have the flexibility to choose between working at the office or remotely from home. While previous hybrid workplace studies examined home versus office decision-making, there is limited understanding of how the attributes of both environments simultaneously influence workplace choices. This study investigated the impact of seven office and six home workplace attributes on choice behaviour. A discrete choice experiment was conducted with 1812 employees from three Dutch municipalities. A multinomial logit model is used to estimate the choice behaviour, and a random parameter mixed logit model is used to identify heterogeneity along with the choice behaviour. The results show that workplace attributes at the office and home environments significantly shape workplace choices, with varying impacts across different environment zones. Commuting time and office occupant type are the most influential in shaping choice decisions, while office aesthetics and workspace access have the least impact. The secondary (social) office spaces have a stronger influence than the core office-workplace and home-workplace. Eventful, functional secondary (social) spaces and smart technology make the office-workplaces more attractive, while ergonomic workstations and smart technology make the home-workplaces more appealing. Yet, preferences for certain attributes vary among employees. For example, preferences for single offices are highly polarised, with roughly half of the employees strongly preferring them and others disliking them. The results of this study provide insights for designing hybrid workplace settings that accommodate employees' preferences and enhance workplace satisfaction, both at home and in the office.