Remote-Work Preference in a Mid-Sized U.S. Metropolitan Survey Sample: Sociodemographic, Experiential, Occupational, and Attitudinal Correlates

Source abstract

This study examines correlates of preferred future work arrangements among adult residents of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, Virginia, a mid-sized U.S. metropolitan region. It focuses on whether remote-work preference varies by sociodemographic characteristics, pandemic-era work-from-home experience, occupational perceptions, and attitudes toward physical interaction. Data were collected through a cross-sectional online survey administered in 2023, during the post-acute pandemic period. After excluding incomplete responses, duplicates, respondents younger than 18 years, cases without verifiable adult eligibility, and cases without verified residence in the study area, the final analytical sample included 636 respondents. Analyses included chi-square tests, Spearman rank correlations, a Stuart–Maxwell test of marginal homogeneity, and an adjusted multinomial logistic regression model. Among respondents with valid preference data in this nonprobability analytical sample, 63.8% preferred fully remote work. Among paired current–preferred cases, preferred arrangements differed significantly from current arrangements, with 87.0% of respondents reporting a directional change preferring movement toward a more remote arrangement. Preferred future work arrangement was significantly associated with age, education, earnings, marital status, housing tenure, perceived work-from-home efficiency, occupational remote-work perceptions, and physical-interaction importance; gender was not significant. Findings indicate substantial but socially differentiated remote-work preference, with implications for workforce planning in mid-sized metropolitan regions.