On modeling future workplace location decisions: An analysis of Texas employees

In this paper, we examine work place location (WPL) preferences of workers in an unpredictable and evolving future by investigating how workers would prefer to allocate their monthly working days among the three WPL alternatives of working from home, from the work office, and from a variable third WPL. In contrast to earlier studies that typically focus on telework as a binary of whether an individual is a teleworker or not, we focus our attention on workers’ preferences for specific combinations of all three WPLs over a period of a month (including, but not limited to, only selecting one WPL for all days of the month). In our analysis, we employ the multiple discrete–continuous extreme value (MDCEV) model, using a 2022 stated preference survey of future work preferences of employees residing in the state of Texas. The results indicate that single young women with very young children, those with long commutes and “intolerable” traffic congestion to the work office, individuals with a private study in their homes, self-employed workers, and those in non-essential service occupations have the highest preference for working from home. On the other hand, older men, individuals from low income households, those residing in rural areas, and workers in essential service occupations have the highest preference for the work office. And, for the third WPL, young non-single women with very young children, individuals from low income households, part-time employees, and those in professional, managerial or finance occupations have the highest predisposition. These results should provide valuable insights to urban planners, homebuilders, employers, travel demand modelers, and a whole host of other businesses to achieve specific desired end states. From a data collection standpoint, our study underscores the need to collect detailed information about work patterns in future activity-travel surveys.