A new survey claims that Gen Z employees feel they are most productive when they work from home rather than the office. Such a result goes against the increasing pressure of companies to return employees to the office space, but at the same time it opens a more important question: is the problem really working from home or the way modern offices are organized?
A report by Diamond Interiors states that focus is one of the key conditions for productivity. For younger workers, a home environment often means less noise, fewer interruptions and more control over the space in which they work. With a good working setup, it can enable faster completion of tasks and even an earlier end of the working day. Compared to traveling to the office and working in a noisy environment, such a model seems more efficient to many.
According to survey results, 53% of Gen Z respondents claim they are more productive when working from home than in a noisy office. Another 34% of them cite the design of the workspace itself as a problem. This suggests that the challenge for employers may not just be how to get people back into the office, but what the office represents today and whether it really supports focused work.
Gen Z workers at home can more easily control noise, interruptions and working conditions, which directly affects productivity
Offices have changed significantly over the years. Traditional closed rooms have been replaced by open-plan layouts, often with entire floors without walls. Such a space can facilitate communication, but at the same time it brings noise, constant interruptions and many visual and sound distractions. In environments like call centers, the noise level increases further.
The Gen Z generation was further affected by the period of forced labor and distance learning from 2020 to 2023. Many younger employees during that period studied, worked or entered the labor market in conditions where domestic work became normal. Because of this, they are not necessarily used to offices full of interruptions and constant noise.
Rebecca Waller, Head of Design at Diamond Interiors, says the results point to an important challenge for employers. According to her, offices are still very valuable for cooperation, but many employees do not feel that they provide them with a good enough environment for focused individual work.
She adds that it’s not always a matter of employees preferring the house, but that the home environment often provides better control over noise, interruptions and comfort. In other words, working from home isn’t magically more productive per se, but rather offers conditions that many offices fail to provide.
This does not mean that the office has come to an end. Rather, it means that employers have to think more seriously about the design of the workplace. Open-plan offices should be better balanced with quiet zones, areas for focus and places where employees can work without constant distractions.
If companies want the young Gen Z generation of employees to produce the best results, the choice will not be just between home and office. The real question will be whether the office can become a space that encourages productivity, instead of suffocating it with noise, interruptions and poor scheduling, reports TechRadar.