The headline number

72% of candidates rank flexibility as a top-3 factor. But "remote" and "hybrid" mean very different things to different people.

What candidates mean by "remote"

  • 88% expect remote-first culture (meetings recorded, async-friendly).
  • 67% expect at least quarterly travel for offsites.
  • 41% accept periodic on-site work for high-bandwidth projects.

What candidates mean by "hybrid"

  • "2 days in office" is the modal expectation.
  • Flexibility on which 2 days matters more than which days specifically.
  • Anchor days (everyone in Tuesday and Thursday) actually win against flex days.

How to write the listing

Be specific. "Hybrid in Northern VA, 2 days on-site (T/Th)" converts 3x better than "Hybrid." Vagueness is interpreted as a hidden 5-day-in-office mandate.

Salary trade-off data

Candidates accept ~8% lower salary for full remote, ~3% for 2-day hybrid. Above 3 days on-site, no pay trade-off — comp must match in-office benchmarks.