Younger workers may appreciate that there are drawbacks to remote or hybrid work, but they still prefer it, a Deloitte survey reported by Marketwatch found.

Obtaining feedback from more than 14,000 Gen Z or “Zoomers” (age 11 to 26) and more than 8,000 millennial (ages 27 to 42) respondents in 44 countries to explore their attitudes about work and the world around them, Deloitte’s 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that remote and hybrid workers in these age cohorts harbor concerns about the impacts of not being in the office. These concerns include suspected proximity bias against them that may inhibit career progression (18 percent of Zoomers and 15 percent of millennials), difficulties connecting with colleagues (14 percent of both generations), lack of mentorship (13 percent of Zoomers and 12 percent of millennials), and feelings of isolation (10 percent of both generations).

“If your aspirations are to get that corner office, you probably have to move into a an in-office role so you can spend the time schmoozing, networking, being front-of-mind, that sort of thing,” Shane Spraggs, CEO of Virtira, a business consulting and services company that has promoted remote work for more than a decade, told MarketWatch. “And that can be a real consideration for a number of people.”

These generations also value work-life balance. The benefits of hybrid and remote work were found to be freeing up time to spend with family and friends (20 percent of Zoomers and 28 percent of millennials), pursuing hobbies (20 percent of Zoomers and 25 percent of millennials), and taking care of responsibilities outside of work (20 percent of Zoomers and 25 percent of millennials).

Almost half of Zoomers and 62 percent of millennials say work is central to their identity, but that work-life balance is something they are striving for. Three-quarters of respondents who are currently working in remote or hybrid roles would consider looking for a new job if their employer asked them to go on-site full-time, the survey reported.

“I don’t think I would go for a job that is full-time in the office again,” one of the millennial respondents said. “I’m surprised it was ever a thing in the first place—how did we all survive going into the office five days a week?”