Are American workers ready to leave remote work behind?

A majority of Americans have already left remote work behind, according to new research.

An exclusive survey conducted for Newsweek by Talker Research explored the state of employed Americans’ plans for work in 2025, finding that 57% plan to work fully in the office.

Nearly a quarter still plan to work entirely from home and the remaining 18% of respondents will follow a hybrid model where they work some days in the office and some at home.

Of those surveyed, Gen Z desires most to work entirely from home (28%), while baby boomers are most partial to wanting to work in an office full time (63%).

Millennials (55%) and Gen Z (55%) are equally as likely to work from home in 2025, while another 19% and 16% of the respective groups will partially be in the office.

Results showed that 70% of employed Americans currently work full-time.

Of the remaining 30%, more are employed part-time (17%), while 13% identified as self-employed.

Men were likelier than women to make up the group of full-time employees (76% vs. 64%).

From an age breakdown, the highest percentage of millennials are employed full-time (77%) followed by Gen X (70%), while Gen Z (69%) and baby boomers (55%) trailed.

Tamanna Ramesh, founder of Spark Careers, told Newsweek that the best workplaces in 2025 will be defined by "flexibility and adaptability." She suggested that employers must be aware of the diverse needs of their staff and provide them with tailored approaches to get the best out of them.

"Gen Z and the silent generation favor remote work, but for different reasons," Ramesh said. "Younger workers value flexibility and work-life integration, while older workers appreciate reduced commutes and comfort. This highlights the need for customized workplace policies over one-size-fits-all approaches."

In her view, companies with rigid policies risk a higher turnover of staff, especially among younger employees. For that reason, she highlights the importance of hybrid options.

"Conversely, organizations embracing hybrid or remote-first models are better positioned to attract and retain top talent," Ramesh said. "By 2025, hybrid work will likely dominate, with flexibility as a key competitive advantage."

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 1,000 employed Americans; the survey was commissioned by Newsweek and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Dec. 23 and Dec. 30, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.