Employee workspace preferences: Understanding remote work levels and how to enhance the office to attract employees back to the office

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many knowledge worker employees got accustomed to remote work, and have been slow to return to the office when hybrid work model has been introduced without office day mandates. This master’s thesis aims to find out what are the motivators for the employees’ in-person office days post-pandemic, why they continue to work from home, and whether the company office has features which detract the employees from in-person work. To contextualize the research, existing literature and research regarding remote work, hybrid work and organizational workplace features are presented within the thesis. The research was conducted as a survey with a case company based in Finland, with approximately 80 employees. The quantitative study used an online questionnaire as data collection method resulting in an 83% response rate. The main findings of the study were that employees preferred an average of 2 in-person office days per week, with commute and the ability to concentrate being main reasons for remote work. The company office was perceived to be suited for collaboration and socializing with colleagues. In order to increase office attraction, the company should therefore address acoustic and sound insulation issues and facilitate both in-person and online meetings more efficiently. The connections between research findings and existing literature are also discussed.