According to a survey conducted by RTL Nieuws with over 17,000 members of its opinion panel, approximately 50% of workers in the Netherlands are interested in making arrangements to

work from home for one or more days a week when they change jobs. This sentiment is particularly strong among individuals with young children, to the extent that they may not even consider applying for a job without remote work options.

In the age group between 26 and 45, which includes those with children living at home, more than half expressed a desire to secure the right to work from home in a new job. This preference also extends to individuals who currently cannot work remotely or are not permitted to do so because of their roles or sectors.

"When I browse job postings on LinkedIn, which I sometimes do for fun, and I see nothing about the possibility of working from home, I lose interest," stated a 42-year-old respondent to RTL. "In my view, it indicates that the company lacks confidence in its employees."

A freelancer in the IT sector voiced a similar sentiment, stating, "Five days in the office? To me, that suggests they are outdated and do not understand the modern workplace. It doesn't give me a positive impression of the company."

Two respondents explained the advantages of working from home, including increased employee happiness and improved team dynamics. There are also broader benefits. "If everyone worked from home for two days, traffic congestion would decrease," one respondent noted. "This could significantly reduce CO2 emissions." It would also save employees money when road pricing or the "kilometer tax" is introduced.

Although about 75% of the respondents had a positive attitude towards remote work, RTL observed that those who do not work from home often find it annoying when their colleagues do (42%) and believe that remote work is less productive (33%). In contrast, only 4% and 6% of remote workers shared these sentiments, respectively.

The broadcaster noted, "It is, of course, possible that those who work from home less do so because they have a negative attitude towards it and therefore find it annoying when others do it." Photo by Tony Alter from Newport News, USA, Wikimedia commons.