Stop blaming Gen Z for resisting RTO: 71% say they want a hybrid balance—and now they’re quietly leading the office comeback

Gen Z has been getting a lot of flak for their alleged workplace habits. Older generations assumed these newer entrants to the workforce don’t see the value of in-person exchanges—and that they’d be the loudest holdouts when return-to-office mandates landed.

Years of data prove them wrong.

Gallup’s most recent generational study found 71% of Gen Z employees prefer a hybrid work environment, the highest share of any generation. On the other end, only 23% of remote-capable Gen Z workers say they’d prefer to work fully remote, compared with 35% among older generations, making Gen Z the least likely generation to want an all-remote setup.

In other words, Gen Z is debunking the idea that they despise in-office work. Or it might just simply be because Gen Z loves to yap (even though it may not be appropriate for traditional in-office etiquette).

That desire for in-person connection isn’t new. A Harris Poll and global events company Freeman survey of 1,824 U.S. adults with white-collar jobs found that 91% of respondents wanted a balance between remote and in-person work to connect with others in their company and industry.

“Gen Z was born into a digital world that connected their lives from the start, so it’s easy to assume they prefer online worlds to the real one,” the Harris........

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