Employees who have the choice of where they do their work are more committed and loyal to their employer. In the Netherlands, more than one in four employees have that freedom. This is evident from the global People at Work 2025-research by the research institute of HR and payroll service provider ADP.

 

Workers who have complete flexibility to choose where they work – on-site, at home or elsewhere – are more likely to be fully engaged than those who do not. Globally, 27% of workers who have complete freedom to choose their work location are fully engaged, compared to 16% of workers where their employer has complete control over where they work.

In the study, engagement is defined as the state of mind that makes people do their very best and want to do a great job. The study shows that the level of engagement at work is related to productivity and loyalty.

Netherlands: frontrunner 'not back to the office'

This also applies to the type of work. People who have a lot of freedom to use their knowledge and expertise every day as they see fit are more involved than employees who do not have this or have this to a lesser extent. Overall, 17% of Dutch workers are fully involved. This is 2% lower than the global average and than a year ago. The involvement of 18 to 39 year olds is at 14% significantly lower than that of the group of 40 to 54 year olds and 65+, of whom respectively 20% and 25% are fully involved with their employer. Among 55 to 64 year olds this is 17%.

The Netherlands – together with Switzerland – has the lowest percentage of workers, namely 53%, who have fully returned to the office or location. In countries such as Italy, France and Germany, that percentage is 65%, 64% and 60% respectively. In the field of hybrid working, the Netherlands is the leader in Europe with 35% of the workers. (ADP)

Human Resources