Companies demanding that tomorrow’s tech talent work in the office a majority of the time should expect to pay a premium for the privilege, suggests data from a recent survey conducted by workspace solutions firm IWG.
According to the IWG survey, 95% of Gen Z employees would anticipate some form of salary increase should they be shifted from a remote or hybrid position to a primarily in-office role.
The preference is also strong with Millennials at 84%, weakening to 71% for Gen X and 61% for Boomers.
IWG, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspaces, found that a 10% salary increase was the average premium that Gen Z and Millennials placed on in-office work.
But for some, even a raise may not suffice, with many respondents saying they would look for another job if hybrid working was no longer on the menu.
And while in-person time in fairly essential for human bonding, all generations agree that daily physical interaction with co-workers is not necessary to forge healthy work relationships, which suggests hybrid working models can still cultivate strong and collaborative corporate cultures.
“The study highlights that there are important generational differences and one size doesn’t fit all,” said Wayne Berger, CEO of Americas, IWG. “Rather, there are many different flavours of hybrid working and the needs of employees will differ according to where they are in their careers and personal lives.”
Overall, hybrid work can have a major impact on well-being, data from the survey suggest. Across the generations, 52% of Canadian hybrid workers are feeling improved overall mood, reduced feelings of stress (57%), experiencing better sleep (53%), and more energy (45%).
“Hybrid working is universally popular among all generations who have embraced the many benefits the model offers, from better physical and mental health to better sleep and more energy,” said Berger.
Even so, the important generation differences Berger alluded to cannot be swept under the rug—”employers face the challenge of balancing the demands of the younger workforce while addressing the concerns of older employees,” the chief exec says.
In Canada, IWG added 23 partnership locations in 2023, including the cities of Burnaby, Surrey, Medicine Hat, Woodbridge, Mississauga, and Markham.
Globally, IWG now has more than 4,000 locations in its network of flexible workspaces.
