Gen Z workers are more willing to accept a fully in-office work model than their older counterparts. According to a new report by the Swedish research institute Ratio, 81% of the youngest workers (18–25 years old) would consider an offer for an office-only job, while only 44% of workers aged 36–49 would do so.
The report highlights that younger workers often experience remote work as a constraint on career development. Early in their professional lives, they have a greater need for support, feedback, and mentoring, while simultaneously facing strong pressure to perform and prove their value.
As a result, young workers tend to place greater importance on social interaction, networking opportunities, learning, and visibility within the organization — factors that are often better supported by in-office settings.
In addition, many young workers report lower productivity when working from home. This may be linked to age-related factors such as less favorable home environments — for example, small apartments or shared housing — a lack of established work routines, a stronger need for guidance, and greater difficulty setting boundaries between work and leisure.
The survey, released on January 26 this year, was conducted between May 16 and 22, 2025. A total of 1,716 Swedish workers were surveyed; of these, the roughly 1,000 who were office workers make up the main sample of the report.
Remote work hours hold steady
The report also indicates that the number of remote work hours in the country has remained stable compared to a previous survey released in 2023 — which was based on data collected in April 2022. Despite many companies recalling staff to return to the office, in May 2025 Swedish office workers still worked from home an average of 1.77 days per week, essentially unchanged from 1.8 in April 2022.
Geographical differences are significant, though. Stockholm has the highest proportion of remote work (2.01 days/week) while Småland has the lowest (1.05). Large cities are the least willing to give up remote work. In Stockholm, acceptance of a workplace without remote work is the lowest in the country.
Hybrid work becomes the norm
Compared to 2022, fewer people in Sweden can work from home anytime they want, but slightly more now work remotely at least once a week, reflecting the standardization of the hybrid model in the country.
Jonas Grafström, Ph.D. in Economics and vice president and researcher at Ratio, notes in the report the 5-day return-to-office mandates at Volvo and Paradox in 2025. Against this backdrop, he says he was surprised by the increase, albeit marginal, in the number of people working remotely at least once a week. “At the same time, the proportion of people who work from home five days a week has halved since our last survey,” he adds. According to the report, fully remote jobs are becoming increasingly rare in Sweden.
Workers aged 36–49 have the most days working from home (1.84 per week) and value flexibility the most. The survey also indicates that the importance of salary decreases with age: young people prioritize high pay, whereas older people prioritize flexibility.
Among other findings is that women (particularly those aged 36–49) place greater value on having the flexibility to work remotely — yet they have less access to it, as men are more likely to work from home three to five days a week.
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