{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T04:11:35Z","timestamp":1777954295772,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":76,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777852800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Working-From-Home (WFH) practices expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to be a point of discussion today with debates increasingly focused on productivity rather than the underlying reasons for WFH or flexibility. This study investigates why individuals value WFH and hybrid work arrangements in the United States. The specific period of study was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding these motivations can inform constructive negotiations and effective policies that enhance productivity while supporting employees\u2019 work\u2013life balance and caregiving responsibilities. Despite extensive discussion of whether employers should permit WFH, the diverse reasons employees seek flexibility remain understudied. Using data from a nationally representative online survey conducted in late 2021, we employ a best\u2013worst scaling experiment to rank motivations for remote work. Results show the most valued reason for WFH is balancing work with caregiving, followed by reducing commuting time and costs, limiting exposure to illness, and preferring the home environment. A latent class model identifies four heterogeneous preference segments: (1) caregiving and commuting, (2) productivity and comfort, (3) multitasking and health safety, and (4) diffuse preferences without a dominant motivation. Additionally, seemingly unrelated regression analysis links WFH preferences with behavioral changes in grooming, attire, and personal care routines. These findings highlight the heterogeneity in workers\u2019 motivations for flexibility and suggest that one-size-fits-all approaches may be inefficient. By revealing the underlying drivers of WFH preferences, this study offers nuanced insights for organizations seeking to design flexible work policies that balance productivity objectives with employee well-being.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0348206","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T17:48:26Z","timestamp":1777916906000},"page":"e0348206","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Understanding why people value working from home or hybrid workplace flexibility a study of preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Courtney","family":"Bir","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9186-0318","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jinho","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6574-5295","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Nicole Olynk","family":"Widmar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0348206.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1030","DOI":"10.1177\/00076503221114021","article-title":"When the right thing to do is also the wrong thing: moral sensemaking of responsible business behavior during the COVID-19 crisis","volume":"63","author":"H Reed","year":"2022","journal-title":"Bus Soc"},{"key":"pone.0348206.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2020.11.143","article-title":"Pandemic risk of COVID-19 outbreak in the United States: an analysis of network connectedness with air travel data","volume":"103","author":"A Tiwari","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Infect Dis"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0348206.ref003","article-title":"The positive impact of lockdown in Wuhan on containing the COVID-19 outbreak in China","volume":"27","author":"H Lau","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Travel Med"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0348206.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1067","DOI":"10.1177\/0007650320921172","article-title":"Business and society research in times of the corona crisis","volume":"59","author":"H Bapuji","year":"2020","journal-title":"Bus Soc"},{"key":"pone.0348206.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103442","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvb.2020.103442","article-title":"The potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on occupational status, work from home, and occupational mobility","volume":"119","author":"A Kramer","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Vocat Behav"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0348206.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1080\/0960085X.2020.1800417","article-title":"An affordance perspective of team collaboration and enforced working from home during COVID-19","volume":"29","author":"L Waizenegger","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur J Inf Syst"},{"key":"pone.0348206.ref007","unstructured":"Adams A, Boneva T, Rauh C, Golin M. 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