CHICAGO — Widespread adoption of hybrid and remote work environments across industries saw a surge during the pandemic. However, employees have seen a new wave of corporate return-to-work orders across the country recently.
But what kind of working environment actually produces more efficient and profitable outcomes for businesses? And what value do employees place on flexibility? Do these things differ across generations?
The answers vary based on industry, but among reputable researchers and studies, trends have emerged — and the findings suggest the tradeoff between flexibility and professional development may be worth it to some employees.
Trade Show Executive dug into the research to find out more about the sentiment toward work-from-home arrangements, and what skills may be lagging for emerging professionals working in them.
Sentiment Differences Among Generations
According to findings from a May 2025 report from Gallup, Gen Z workers in the U.S. are the least likely to prefer remote-only work settings compared to other generations. Just 23% of Gen Z workers said they’d prefer an exclusively remote work location, compared to 35% of Millennials.
Across all generations though, the appetite for fully on-site work is low, with just 6% of Gen Z, 4% of Millennials, 9% of Gen X and 10% of Baby Boomers saying they’d prefer that kind of arrangement. Hybrid work settings are by far the most preferred format, with 71% of Gen Z, 60% of Millennials, 56% of Gen X and 54% of Baby Boomers preferring it in the Gallup survey.
And while those findings may seem surprising from a digitally native generation, it appears Gen Z workers have identified a lag in their ability to develop professionally in a fully remote setting.
Related. Your Guide to the Post-Show Process with NATDA
Leadership Development in Remote Arrangements
In a peer-reviewed article in the British Psychological Society’s Journal of Occupational and Organizations Psychology, researchers claim that fully remote employees that feel “psychologically distant” from their manager can experience different performance and engagement outcomes.
In “Our Work-From-Anywhere Future” from Harvard Business School Lumry Family Associate Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury, the professor acknowledged challenges that come from remote work, including difficulties around communication, brainstorming, problem-solving, knowledge-sharing, socialization, camaraderie and mentoring. However, Choudhury’s research has uncovered a variety of policies in place across organizations that are being deployed to address those same challenges.
Pay Gaps Vary
Research on compensation pay and benefits across different industries in the U.S. do not come to the same conclusion about if remote workers are paid more or less than their in-person counterparts.
While the tech industry in particular sees remote workers reporting higher pay, in other industries and dependent on location, that trend is reversed. Interestingly Stanford Economics Professor Nicholas Bloom has found that the average worker would take an 8% pay cut for a fully or partial remote position, as reported in USA Today.
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