2025-2026年招聘基准报告 Hiring Benc

2025-2026

Keyinsightsintohoworganizationsattract,hire,andretaintalent

©2025CriteriaCorp.

AbouttheReport

Everyyear,wesurveyhiringprofessionalsfromacrossallindustriestolearnmoreabouthowtheyattract,hire,andretaintheirteams.

Foroureighthannualreport,weexplorethestateofhiringin2025.

Thisyearmarksthebeginningofaneweraofwork,whichwe’recallingWork4.0:AIisreshapinghiringfrombothsides,withorganizationsusingittodriveefficiencyandcandidatesusingittotailortheirapplicationsatscale.Fororganizations,theresultisabitofaparadox:anabundanceofapplicants,butgreaterdifficultytellingthemapartandcuttingthroughthenoisetoidentifytruecandidatepotential.

Atthesametime,broadershiftscontinuetoshapeworkasweknowit.

Companiesarecallingmoreemployeesbackintotheoffice;themostin-demandskillsareincreasinglybecomingthemostcorehumanskills;andGenZisenteringthelabormarketsearchingfortheirplaceamongstitall.

We’llexploreallthatandmoreinthisyear’sreport.

Theresultsinthisreportarebasedonasurveyof350+hiring

professionalsacrossorganizationslargeandsmall,andacrossawide

breadthofindustries.ResponseswerecollectedinJuly2025.Thereportsurveyedaglobalaudience,withthemajorityofrespondentshailing

fromtheUnitedStates,Australia,andCanada.

WhoWeAre

Criteriaempowerscompaniesofallsizestohireanddeveloptoptalentwithscience-backedassessments,interviews,andemployeedevelopmenttools.Wearefascinatedbyallthingshiring,andwebuiltthisreporttoexplorehowmodernorganizationshiretoday.

Visitusat

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport2

TableofContents

01TheHiringLandscape5

02AIandHiring15

03GenZ21

04RemoteWork25

05FutureOutlook30

06SurveyRespondents34

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport3

KeyInsightsFromtheReport

1

4

74%ofhiringprofessionals

sayit’shardtofindhigh-qualitycandidateswiththerightskills

And67%saywe’refacingatalentshortage.

Halfofworkplacesarenowmostlyin-person

Butwhenitcomestoemployeeperformance,hybrid

cameoutontopasthebestwaytodriveemployee

performance,followedcloselybyin-person.

2

5

One-thirdofhiringprofessionals

areconcernedaboutcandidates

usingAIwhenapplying

RemotecompaniesweremorelikelytobeconcernedaboutcandidatesusingAI.

AIuseinhiringisup33%

And61%ofhiringprofessionalsfeeloptimisticaboutAI’sroleinhiring.

6

3

Only8%ofhiringprofessionals

thinkGenZisprepared

fortheworkplace

AndmosthiringprofessionalsthinkGenZneedstoberecruiteddifferently.

Themostin-demandskills

ofthefutureareanalyticalthinking,

flexibility/agility,andemotionalintelligence

Andthebiggestprioritiesforhiringprofessionals

nextyeararereducingturnover,increasinghiring

efficiency,andupskillingemployees.

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport4

01

KeyTakeaway๊

Istheresumefinallydead?AIhasmadeiteasierthaneverforapplicantstooptimizetheirresumestoperfectlymatchjobdescriptions,andmore

powertothem!Buttheresultisthatemployers

arenowfloodedwiththousandsofformulaic

resumesthatprovideverylittleusefulinsights.Allthiscombinedhascontributedtoaneweraof

AI-augmentedwork,whichwe’recallingWork4.0.

Readontoseehowhiringprofessionalsarecuttingthroughthenoisein2025asweenterthisnewera.

Percentagewhosayhiringismorechallengingthisyear:

Halfofhiringprofessionalssayhiringisharderthisyear.

Ishiringgettingharder?Accordingtoabouthalfofthehiringprofessionalssurveyedforthisreport,hiringisharderthanitwaslastyear,andwith

goodreason.TheriseofAIhasdramaticallyreshapedhiringasweknow

it.CandidatescanquicklyandeasilyuseAItooptimizetheirresumesand

applytomorejobsfasterthanever,causingemployerstobeinundated

withapplicationsthatarehardtotellapart.Understandably,thoseinchargeofhiringarestrugglingtoquicklypinpointtoptalentinaseaofresumes.

Interestingly,theindustriesthatarereallyfeelingtheburnthisyeararethetechindustry,staffingandrecruiting,healthcare,andnon-profit.

Ishiringin2025morechallenging

comparedtolastyear?

49%

49

61+55+52+52+41+38+36

42%

AllRespondents49%

ByIndustry

Staffing/RecruitingTechnology

Health

Non-Profit

Transportation&LogisticsManufacturing

61%

55%

52%

52%

41%

38%

36%

9%

49429

Finance

MorechallengingAboutthesameLesschallenging

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport6

What’smakinghiringsohard?

Hiringfeelslikeaslogforalotofreasons,butattheheartoftheissue,three-fourthsofhiringprofessionalssaythatit’shardtosimplyfindhigh-qualitycandidateswiththerightskills.AboutathirdarealsoconcernedaboutcandidatesusingAI;anotherthirdsaythey’vehadtotakedownrolesduetochangingpriorities;andyetanotherthirdofhiringprofessionalssaythey’veseenamajorincreaseinthenumberofjobapplicantsperjob.

74%

31%

Saythey’vehadtotakedownopenrolesduetochangingpriorities

33%

30%

Saythey’veseenabigincreaseinthenumber ofapplicantsperjob

Sayit’shardtofind

high-qualitycandidates

Saythey’reconcerned

aboutcandidatesusing

AIwhenapplying

withtherightskills

24%

16%

21%

Saytheyreceivemore

jobapplicantsthanthey

canreview/process

Saythey’vehadtoput

hiringonholddueto

Saytheirteamis

understaffedand

strugglingtokeepup

uncertaintywiththe

economy

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport7

high-qualitycandidateswiththerightskills

Drill-down:Whoisstrugglingthe

mosttofindhigh-qualitycandidates?

74%ofhiringprofessionalssayfindinghigh-qualityjobcandidateswiththerightskillsistough,butsomeorganizationshaveitharderthanothers.Acrossindustries,thefinanceandhealthsectorsaremorelikelytoreportstrugglingwithfindingtherighttalent,whiletechistheleastlikely.Smallercompaniesarealsohavingmoretroublecomparedtolargercompanies.Andcompaniesthathavemovedtoin-person

oron-siteworkaresignificantlymorelikelytoreportchallengescomparedtoremotecompanies.

%ofhiringprofessionalswhosayit’shardtofindhigh-qualitycandidates

ByCompanySize(Employees)

ByIndustry

8276666079+73+60

79%

78%

71%

70%

66%

64%

62%

82%

76%

66%

60%

Finance

0-99

100-499500-24992500+

Health

Manufacturing

Non-Profit

ByWorkModel

In-Person79%Hybrid73%Remote60%

Staffing/Recruiting

Transportation&Logistics

Technology

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport8

Two-thirdsofhiringprofessionals

believewe’refacingatalentshortage.

Thestruggletofindhigh-qualitytalenthasledmanytobelievethatthereisashortageoftalent.Infact,67%ofthehiringprofessionals

surveyedforthisreportbelievewearefacingatalentshortage.Theresponsesareevenmoredramaticbasedontheindustry–hiring

professionalsinmanufacturingare28%morelikelytosaythere’sashortageoftalent,whilethoseintechare21%lesslikelytofeelthatway.

67

86+78+74+73+67+1+53

Intoday’shiringlandscape,doyoubelievethereisatalentshortage?

33%NoYes67%

Percentagewhosay

we’refacingatalentshortage:

AllRespondents67%

ByIndustry

ManufacturingNon-Profit

Health

Transportation&LogisticsFinance

Staffing/RecruitingTechnology

86%

78%

74%

73%

67%

61%

53%

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport9

Thetalentshortagelikelyisn’tgoinganywhere.

Whenitcomestothefuture,thejuryisstilloutonwhetherornotthetalentshortagewillimproveorworsenmovingforward.

Manyfactorswillimpacttheoutcome–fromtheintangiblewaysthatAIwillreshaperolesinthefuture,tothemoretangiblewaysthatgovernmentpoliciescanshapelaboravailabilityinthefuture.Byindustry,thestaffingandrecruitingindustryandthetech

industryarethemostoptimisticaboutthetalentshortageimprovingovertime,whilethefinancesectorislessoptimistic.

Howdoyouforeseethetalentshortage

Percentagewhoareoptimisticaboutthetalentshortage(combined%ofthosewhosaid“significantlyorslightlyimproving”):

evolvingoverthenext5yearsinyourindustry?

30%

38

AllRespondents38%

28%

26%

ByIndustry

58%

56%

38%

35%

34%

28%

18%

Staffing/RecruitingTechnology

ManufacturingNon-Profit

Health

58+56+38+35+34+28+18

Transportation&Logistics

Finance

7%

8%

Slightlyimproving

Stayingthesame

Slightlyworsening

Significantlyimproving

Significantlyworsening

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport10

Halfofhiringprofessionalsexpecttohiremorenextyear.

Abouthalfofhiringprofessionalsexpecttohiremoreattheircompaniesnextyear,while47%expecthiringtostayflat,andjust4%anticipatehiringless.Lastyear’ssurveysawsimilarresults,withabouthalfexpectingtohiremoreinthecomingyear.Theindustriesthatexpecttoseethemosthiringnextyeararestaffingandrecruiting,health,andmanufacturing,whileindustriesliketechnologyandfinancearelesslikely

toplanmorehiringinthecomingyear.

Percentageofhiringprofessionalswhoexpecttohiremorethisyear:

Nextyear,doyouexpecttohiremore,less,oraboutthesameaslastyear?

49

AllRespondents49%

47%

49%

68+59+57+50+44+39+26

ByIndustry

Staffing/RecruitingHealth

Manufacturing

Transportation&LogisticsTechnology

Finance

Non-Profit

68%

59%

57%

50%

44%

39%

26%

4%

49474

MoreAboutthesameLess

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport11

Employeeturnoverhasstabilized.

Overhalfofhiringprofessionalssayturnoverisaboutthesameaslastyear.Meanwhile23%sayithasincreased,while24%actuallysayit’sgonedown.Surprisingly,therewasonegroupthatwasmorelikelytoreportanincreaseinturnover,andthatwasremotecompanies.Remotecompaniesare38%morelikelytoreportthatturnoverhasgoneupthanin-officecompanies.

Hasyourcompany’semployee

turnoverincreased,decreasedorstayed

Percentagewhosayturnoverhasincreased:

thesamecomparedtolastyear?

23%

31%

22%

21%

AllRespondentsByWorkModel

MostlyRemoteHybrid

MostlyIn-Person

ı

53%

23%

24%

FoodforThought

Alargepartofthelabormarketisinanemployer-drivenmarket,wherejobseekersstruggletofindworkandemployedworkersclingtotheirroles

longer,anewtrendthemediahasrecentlycoined”jobhugging.”Thismaybepartofthereason

we’reseeinglowerturnoverthisyearcomparedtoyearspast.

IncreasedStayedthesameDecreased

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport12

Structuredinterviewsareheretostay.

Amajorityofhiringprofessionalsnowsaytheyconductfullystructuredinterviews,with54%agreeingthattheyconductinterviewsbyusingaconsistentsetofquestionsandapre-setratingrubric.42%saytheyareconductingsomewhatstructuredinterviews,whileonly4%are

conductingcompletelyunstructuredinterviews.Notably,largercompaniesweresignificantlymorelikelytoconductstructuredinterviewsthansmallercompanies,withthree-fourthsofhiringprofessionalsatlargecompaniessayingtheyconductstructuredinterviews.

Percentagewhosaytheyconductstructuredinterviews:

Doesyourcompanyconduct

structuredinterviews?

54

AllRespondents54%

48+50+58+74

ByCompanySize

0-99Employees100-499

48%

42%SomewhatYes54%

50%

58%

74%

500-24992500+

KeyTakeaway๊

Researchshowsthatstructuredinterviewsare

2xmorepredictivethanunstructuredinterviews.Buttheytakesomecaretosetupcorrectly,

whichisperhapswhylarger,well-resourcedenterprisesaremorelikelytoconductthem.

Togetstartedwithstructuredinterviewing,smallerbusinessescanleveragenewinterviewtechnologythatmakesiteasiertosetupastructuredprocess,withouthavingtooverhaulhiringcompletely.

4%No

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport13

61%ofhiringprofessionalstrusthiringmanagersattheirorgstoconductgoodinterviews.Thatnumberishigheriftheyconductstructuredinterviews.

Mosthiringprofessionalstrustthehiringmanagersattheirorganizationstoconductinterviewsthatareobjective,predictiveandcompliant.61%saytheytrusttheirhiringmanagers,36%saytheyonlytrustthemsomewhat,andjust3%saytheydon’ttrustthematalltoconduct

goodinterviews.Structuredinterviewsmayhelptoincreasethatleveloftrust.Hiringprofessionalswhosaytheyconductfullystructured

interviewsare17%morelikelytotrusttheirhiringmanagerscomparedtothosewhosaytheyonlyconductsomewhatstructuredinterviews.

Doyoutrusthiringmanagersatyourcompanytoconductgoodinterviews?

KeyTakeaway๊

Interviewsareacriticalstepinthehiringprocess

forlearningmoreaboutyourcandidates.Butthey

canalsobeoneofthemostbiased.Structured

interviewshelpsethiringmanagersupforsuccessbyprovidingthemwithastructuredsetofquestionsandguidelinesforhowtoevaluateeachresponse.

Somewhat36%

No3%

Thosewhoconduct

structuredinterviewsare

17%morelikely

tosaytheytrusttheirhiringmanagers.

Yes61%

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport14

02

AIuseinhiringandtalentmanagementisontherise,up33%fromlastyear.

AIuseinhiringcontinuestotickupeachyear,with32%ofhiringprofessionalssayingtheyuseAIintheirhiringortalentmanagementprocessesin2025.Thisrepresentsa33%increasefromlastyear.Drillingdown,biggercompaniesaremorelikelytobeusingAIthansmallercompanies,perhapsasawaytosortthroughahighervolumeofapplicants.

%ofhiringprofessionalswhouseAIinhiring

and/ortalentmanagementtoday:

33%increase

YoYinthosewhouse

32%

AIinhiringand/or

talentmanagement

24%

32ı+ı+40+43

PercentagewhouseAIinhiringand/ortalentmanagement:

32%

27%

27%

40%

43%

AllRespondents

12%

ByCompanySize

0-99Employees100-499

500-24992500+

202320242025

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport16

HiringprofessionalsremainwaryofAI,buttrustisgrowing.

TrustinAIisgrowinggradually.Lastyear,acombined9%ofhiringprofessionalssaidtheytrustAImorethantraditionalrecruitmentmethods.This

yearthatnumberincreasedto17%,an89%increaseyearoveryear.ButnearlyhalfofrespondentsstillsaytheytrustAIlessthantraditionalmethods.

KeyTakeaway๊

Inthetalentworld,AIsuffered

afewearlyPRblunders.During

thattime,AIbecameassociatedwithpoorlymonitoredalgorithmsthatamplifiedbiasinhiring.

Sincethen,AIhascomealongway,pavingthewayfornewtechnologythatcanberigorouslyvalidatedandcarefullyaudited,buildingastrongerfoundationoftrustthatweexpect

willcontinuetogrowwithtime.

WhatisyourleveloftrustinrecruitmentmethodsthatuseAIascomparedtotraditionalmethods?

38%

36%

89%increase

YoYinthosewho trustAImorethantraditionalmethods

14%

9%

3%

MuchMoretrustAboutasLesstrustMuch

moretrustmuchtrustlesstrust

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport17

61%ofhiringprofessionalsfeel

optimisticaboutAI’spotentialinhiring.

Whilethetrustmaynothavebeenearnedjustyet,hiringprofessionalsarerelativelyoptimisticaboutitspotentialtoimprovethehiringprocess.Acombined61%feeloptimistic(18%veryoptimistic,43%somewhatoptimistic),whichrepresentsa17%increasefromlastyear.

FoodforThought

Hiringisoneofthemostcritical,human-orientedactivitiesinthebusinessworld–afterall,whatcouldbemorehumanthantheselectionofhumantalent?

HowoptimisticareyouabouttheroleAIcanplayinthehiringprocess?

43%

Hiringprofessionalsarewaryof

handingovertheentireprocess

toAI,butoptimisticaboutthe

26%

incrediblepotentialAIholdsfor

improvinghiringasweknowit.In

18%

thefuture,weexpectAItoaugmentthehiringprocess,becominga

trustedpartnerinimprovinghiringdecisionsandtalentoutcomes

intheworldofWork4.0.

9%

4%

Very

Somewhat

Neutral

Somewhat

Very

optimistic

optimistic

pessimistic

pessimistic

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport18

Thevastmajorityofhiringprofessionalsare

usingAIatwork,evenifit’snotexplicitlyforhiring.

WhilethemajorityofhiringprofessionalsmaynotactivelybeusingAIinhiring,thatdoesn’tmeantheyaren’tusingAIatall.Infact,

three-fourthsofhiringprofessionalssaytheyactivelyuseAItoolsatwork(37%stronglyagree,38%somewhatagree).Meanwhile56%

ofhiringprofessionalssaytheytakeanactiveroleinhelpingmembersoftheirorganizationadoptAItools.And43%saytheircompanieshaveprogramsinplacetohelpemployeesupskilltheirAIproficiency.

Itakeanactiverolein

helpingmembersofour

organizationadoptAItools

IactivelyuseAItoolsatwork

MycompanyhasprogramsinplacetohelpemployeesupskilltheirAIproficiency

37%

38%

36%

29%

28%

30%26%

20%

18%

14%13%

11%

■■

Stronglyagree

Stronglyagree

Somewhatagree

Somewhatdisagree

Stronglydisagree

Stronglyagree

Somewhatagree

Somewhatdisagree

Stronglydisagree

SomewhatSomewhatStronglyagreedisagreedisagree

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport19

AI’srolein

AIisperceivedasathreatto

jobsecuritybyemployees

atmycompany

Ingeneral,employeesatmy

companyareopen-minded

abouttheuseofAI

55%

theworkplacehassolidified.

ıl..

Ingeneral,thehiringprofessionalsinthissurveyhadveryfavorable

41%

ı

Somewhatdisagree

opinionsaboutAIintheworkplace.

28%

ı

Somewhatagree

24%

24%

ı

Stronglydisagree

17%

6%

Stronglyagree

4%

Stronglydisagree

StatsataGlance

■

Stronglyagree

Somewhatagree

Somewhatdisagree

79%saythatemployeesattheircompanyareopen-mindedabouttheuseofAI

IworryaboutAI“takingmyjob”inthefuture

IbelieveAIwillkillmorejobsthanitwillcreate

42%32%

14%12%

65%saythatAIisnotperceivedasathreattojobsecurityby

employeesattheircompanies

40%

35%

■ıı■

75%saytheydon’tworryaboutAItakingtheirjobinthefuture

18%

7%

Stronglyagree

54%saytheydon’tthinkthatAIwillkillmorejobsthanitcreates

Somewhatagree

Stronglydisagree

Stronglyagree

Somewhatagree

Somewhatdisagree

Stronglydisagree

Somewhatdisagree

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport20

03

Only8%ofhiringprofessionalsthinkGenZispreparedfortheworkplace.

GenZhasenteredtheworkforceatachallengingtime.AIisreshapingwhatentryleveljobslooklike;highereducationisundergoingseismic

shifts;andtheworldhasbarelyrecoveredfromthesocialandeconomicramificationsofCOVID-19.SoweaskedhiringprofessionalsiftheythoughtGenZwaspreparedtoentertheworkforce.Only8%sayyes,thatGenZispreparedfortheworkplace,while49%saysomewhatand43%sayno.

EvenamongstGenZersthemselves(thoseuptoaboutage28),only24%saythegenerationasawholeisreadyfortheworkplace.Thenumberfallssteeplyamongolderworkers.Meanwhile,womenwereslightlymorepositiveaboutGenZthanmen.

PercentagewhosayGenZispreparedfortheworkplace:

8%

24%

5%

4%

3%

5%

9%

DoyoufeelGenZemployeesarewell-preparedfortheworkplace?

AllRespondents

.

ByAge

18-2930-3940-4950+

ByGender

Male

Female

49%

43%

KeyTakeaway๊

GenZhasbeendealtatoughhand,andwe’re

sympathetic.GenZrepresentsthefutureofthe

workforce,andbusinessestodayhaveacollectiveobligationtohelpthenextgenerationofworkersfindtheirwayinthisuniqueeraofWork4.0.

8%

.lı

YesSomewhatNo

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport22

HiringprofessionalsthinkGenZneedstoberecruiteddifferently.

HalfofhiringprofessionalsbelieveGenZneedstoberecruiteddifferentlythanothergenerations.GenZisknowntobethefirstdigital

natives,havinggrownupwithaccesstotheInternetandsmartmobiledevices.Withthisuniqueoutlook,GenZhasanewapproachtotheworldandtheworkplace,whichmayrequireashiftinrecruitmentstrategies,likemobile-firstrecruitmentorsocialrecruitmentstrategies.

KeyTakeaway๊

Whileit’seasytopointoutthedifferencesbetweenthegenerations,everynew

generationrequiresahelpinghandwhenenteringtheworkforce.Likeallearly-

careerworkersbeforethem,GenZis

lookingforopportunitiesforcareergrowthandupskilling,workflexibility,andstrongcompanycultureandpurpose.Leaning

intothesequalitieswillhelporganizationsthatarelookingtoattractGenZtalent.

Doyoufeelyouhavetorecruit

GenZdifferentlythancandidates

inothergenerations?

50%

37%

13%

50ı.

YesSomewhatNo

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport23

Areentrylevelrolesatrisk?

WiththeriseofAI,manyareleftwonderingifcommonentry-leveljobswillslowlydisappear,makingitharderforGenZerstogetastartinanewcareer.Butforthehiringprofessionalsinthissurvey,manyofthemarestillactivelyhiringentry-levelroles.37%saytheyhiremostlyentrylevel

roles,32%saytheyprioritizemostlymid-leveltoadvancedroles,and31%saytheyhirebothequally.Industrieslikefinanceandtransportationandlogisticsaremorelikelytobehiringmostlyentry-level,whilenotablythetechindustryistheleastlikelytosaythey’rehiringentry-level.

37

Percentagewhoarehiringmostlyentry-levelroles:

AllRespondents37%

Whatrolesareyoumostoftenhiringforatyourcompany?

55+45+39+33+33+32+16

ByIndustry

55%

45%

39%

33%

33%

32%

16%

Finance

37%Mostlyentry-levelBothequally31%

Transportation&LogisticsNon-Profit

Health

Manufacturing

Staffing/RecruitingTechnology

FoodforThought

Whilemanyentry-levelrolesmaydisappear,manynewanddifferententry-leveljobsthatwehaven’timaginedmayberightaroundthecorner.Like

manynewtechnologiesinthepast,AIthreatenstoshakeupthenatureofjobsasweknowit,butwe’reoptimisticthatsomeofthosechanges

willleadtonewandbetterwaysofworking.

Mostlymid-levelto

advancedroles32%

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport24

04

Thereturn-to-officeisinfullforce.

Nearlyhalfofworkplacesarenowmostlyin-person,atrendthathascontinuedtorisesince2022.Asofthisyear,49%ofhiringprofessionalssaytheirorganizationismostlyin-person,while36%arehybrid,andonly16%aremostlyremote.

Whatworkmodeldoesyourorganizationusenow?49%

KeyTakeaway๊

Asmoreandmorecompanies

office,theirreturnisoftenmetwithfewerperksthanofficeworkers

mayhavebeenaccustomedtointhepast.Withleanerbudgetsandleanerstaff,it’sanemployer-drivenmarketwherecompaniesholdmoreofthecards.

calltheiremployeesbacktothe

44%

43%

45%

39%

40%

39%

37%

37%

36%

22%

20%

16%

18%

16%

20212022202320242025

Mostlyin-personHybridMostlyremote

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport26

Hybridiscrownedthebestwaytowork!

Debatesrageonaboutwhichworkmodelisthebest.Remoteworkersloveremotework,andattesttotheincreasedfocusandworklifebalancethatworkingfromhomeallows.In-persondevoteesavowthevalueofin-personcollaborationandcommunication.

Andhybridworkersstraddletheline,preferringtotakethebestfrombothworlds.Sowhenitcomestowhichworkmodelactuallyleadstothebestbusinessperformance,hybridcameoutontop.47%believethathybridleadstothebestemployeeperformance,while40%believethecrowngoestoin-person.Just13%saythatremoteworkisthebestforemployeeperformance.

Whichworkmodelbestenablesemployees

toperformattheirhighestlevel?

47%

KeyTakeaway๊

Mostofthesurveyrespondents

believethatinorderforemployeestoperformattheirbest,some

degreeofin-persontimeis

necessary.Theseunderlyingbeliefsmaybepartofthereasonthat

RTOisinfullswingatsomany

companiesoverthelastfewyears.Readontothenextpagetoseehowopinionsonthisquestion

varybetweendifferentgroups.

40%

13%

4047.

Mostlyin-personHybridMostlyremote

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport27

Opinionsonremoteworkvarywidelybygender,

age,andthetypeofworksomeoneisalreadydoing.

People’sopinionsonwhichworkmodelisbestisheavilyinfluencedbyarangeofotherfactors.Remoteworkisstillheavilyfavoredbywomenandyoungeremployees,whilein-personworkisheavilyfavoredbyemployeesover50.Andperhapstonoone’s

surprise,peopletendtopreferthewaytheyalreadywork:themajorityofin-personworkerssayworkingintheofficeisthebestatdrivingperformance;themajorityofhybridworkerssayhybridisbest;andremoteworkerssayremoteworkisbest.

Whichworkmodeldoyoubelievebestenablesemployeestoperformattheirhighestlevel?

51%ofmenprefer

in-personwork,while50%ofwomenpreferhybrid

68%ofthoseage50+preferin-person

59%ofthoseage18-29(largelyGenZ)preferhybrid

70%ofhybridworkerssayhybridisthebest

55%ofremoteworkerssayremoteworkisthebest

StatsataGlance

Average

Gender

Female

38%

12%

50%

Male

Age

51%

14%

35%

50+

68%

8%

24%

40-49

35%

15%

50%

30-39

30%

17%

52%

18-29

29%

12%

59%

WorkModel

Hybrid

22%

9%

70%

Remote

5%55%

40%

In-Person

65%

3%

32%

In-personRemoteHybrid

65%ofin-personworkerssayin-personisthebest

2025-2026HiringBenchmarkReport28

TheriseofAImayhaveanoutsizedimpactonremotecompanies.

33%of