Doing the Research seriesWhere Do You Like to Work? Preferred Working Locations Holistically Researched

10 April 2024, by Anna Priebe

Photo: Universität Hamburg / Lutsch

In the office, from home, or a hybrid arrangement? Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, our working-location options have increased. In their research project, Marie-Therese Wiese, MSc; Ricarda Reich, MSc; and Prof. Dr. Dorothea Alewell examine where people prefer to work and what influences these preferences.

In their research, they focus on working culture in companies What is the focus of the project?

Marie-Therese Wiese: Something significant has been changing in companies for some time now: employees are being recruited earlier and with fairly standardized working conditions. This means that an employee is considered more of a resource that has been “purchased” as precisely as possible and is expected to adapt to the needs and requirements of the company.

Ricarda Reich: Today, at many levels, we see greater individualism and far greater codecision rights for employees with regard to working hours, working locations, and job crafting, whereby employees bundle the tasks that they are or will be responsible. The key terms here are new work, flexible working hours, individual work agreements in the form of i-deals or job crafting. Within this broader context, we examine working-location preferences and the question of where people want to work: in the office, from home, or a hybrid arrangement. We research what types of employees there are in relation to these work-location preferences.

How do we study this?

Dorothea Alewell: Our research this using empirical data from a large-scale survey in which more than 800 employees took part. Prior research has typically examined a large number of individual motives and characteristics—for example, commuting times or involvement in the team and its information flows.

However, if employees have a say in working hours, work location, and bundling tasks, it no longer makes sense to look only at the individual effects of measures or individual motives and, therefore, conduct predominantly variable-driven research. Instead, adopt a person-centered approach and try to generate knowledge about the bundles of motives that influence employees' decisions. Therefore, we use a method called latent class analysis, which is still relatively unused in our field, to determine types of employees with regard to their work location preferences.

What types did you identify?

Alewell: In our research, we have identified 4 different types of employees so far. With 48 percent, the largest group of respondents is what we call the “balancers.” For them, all individual motives are important—that is, the flow of information and being involved—as are motives such as work-life balance and short commuting times. They are also concerned about maintaining their health. Thus, they like a hybrid model, working partly in the office and partly from home. This presents an image of people who want to balance everything—work and private life.

Wiese: The “indifferents” group comprises 11 percent of respondents, has the same preference for hybrid working, but do not place particular importance on any of the individual motives—with the exception of maintaining their health. In contrast, the “travel avoiders” group—the second largest with 31 percent—clearly prefers working from home. Their dominant motive is to avoid commuting to work as much as possible, and they also place great importance on maintaining their health. Compared to the “balancers,” they are generally far less satisfied with their jobs, far less extroverted, and often get on less well with colleagues due to their personality.

Reich: With 10 percent, the “work focalizers” group is the smallest group and finds work-related motives (i.e., being well integrated into the team and information flows) to be very important when deciding on work location; it prefers to keep work and private life clearly separate. They would prefer to work in the office. 

How do you put these findings into practice?

Reich: Following the experience of having many empty offices during the coronavirus pandemic, with people working from home, lots of companies are currently developing new space utilization strategies. For example, they are giving notice on rented office space, converting remaining space into collaboration spaces, and introducing workspace booking systems because there is no longer a fixed workspace available for each employee.

Alewell: In order to calculate the number of workspaces required and to estimate the use of desk-sharing spaces, it is important that employers understand their employees’ preferences and are able to anticipate their decisions for or against work locations. To do this, it is first important to precisely identify the types of employee, their motive bundles, and their preferences. The results make it easier for employers to develop targeted offers.

Wiese: Knowing the different types of employees can also help employers to understand their possible reactions to the reorganization of workspaces and office space in advance.