Where developers work vs. where they want to work

Written By Matt McDougall | April 3, 2025

79% of developers want flexibility. Here’s who’s getting it (and who’s not).

In our 2025 Developer Skills Report, we found that 79% of developers prefer hybrid or remote work, but only 64% are afforded that type of flexibility. The gap between where developers work and where they want to work varies sharply by region, role, and age. And those mismatches matter for retention and hiring.

Let’s dig into the data, highlighting the regions getting it right, the ones out of step with developer preferences, and what it means for employers navigating a global talent pool.

Prefer to listen?

Developers want less in-office work. Pretty much everywhere.

Among all developers surveyed:

36% work in-office, but only 21% want to (↓15 pts)
33% currently work remotely, 39% want to (↑6 pts)
31% currently hybrid, 40% want to (↑9 pts)

The direction is unmistakable: developers want flexibility. Preferences lean very slightly in favor of hybrid work (40% vs 39%), suggesting that many developers see value in some level of office presence.

Fully in-office roles? Least preferred, by far.

Where reality matches preference (and where it doesn’t)

United States: hybrid harmony

46% of developers are remote, and 45% prefer remote work
38% of developers are currently hybrid, 44% say it’s their preferred model
Only 10% want to be fully in-office.

The U.S. shows one of the closest alignments between developer preference and reality, with both hybrid and remote models widely available. Yet as some large tech employers begin reinstating return-to-office mandates, this harmony may be short-lived.

Africa: remote-first, on its own terms

47% are remote, and 49% prefer remote work.
About a third work hybrid.
23% work in-office, but only 14% want to.

African developers show a balanced preference between remote and hybrid work. Interestingly, the current and preferred work arrangements are nearly aligned, suggesting the market has already adapted to developer preferences in this region.

Why? Despite average internet speeds being slower than in some regions, African developers have embraced remote work, possibly because:

Access to international opportunities that weren’t previously available
Leapfrogging directly to remote-first culture without the legacy of office-centric work
Tech entrepreneurship culture that’s less tied to traditional office structures

Europe: leaning toward hybrid

Western Europe

In-office: 25% work in-office, but only 12% prefer it (↓13 pts)
Remote: 40% are remote, 41% prefer it (↑1 pt)
Hybrid: 35% are hybrid, 47% want hybrid (↑12 pts)

Central/Eastern Europe

In-office: 15% work in-office, while only 11% want it (↓4 pts)
Remote: 52% are remote, but only 43% prefer it (↓9 pts)
Hybrid: 32% are hybrid, yet 43% prefer this model (↑11 pts)

Across Europe, developers are signaling a strong interest in hybrid setups. Western Europe, in particular, has a moderate split between remote and hybrid, but both subregions have far fewer developers wanting to be in the office than those who actually are. Of note, Central and Eastern Europe’s largest disparity isn’t a push for more remote work: developers there actually favor less remote in favor of more hybrid.

A key driver for hybrid appeal in Central and Eastern Europe may be the prevalence of smaller teams or solo contributors, who benefit from face-to-face camaraderie and knowledge-sharing they don’t always get when working alone. Many developers there also appear to be recalibrating after experiencing fully remote setups during the pandemic, recognizing that occasional in-person interaction can strengthen social bonds and enhance team alignment. Thus, while autonomy remains important, a balanced mix of remote flexibility and in-person touchpoints resonates with the region’s evolving work culture.

Asia-Pacific (excluding India): the biggest disconnect

46% currently work in-office
But only 15% prefer it
42% prefer remote work, but just 30% currently work remotely

Among developers in the Asia-Pacific region(excluding India), there’s a stark mismatch between what employers provide and what developers want. Fully in-office roles remain the norm for almost half of respondents, even though a mere 15% actually prefer being on-site full-time. This 31-point discrepancy is the largest in our survey, suggesting that while tech infrastructure and connectivity are steadily improving across the region, traditional workplace cultures still exert a strong pull toward in-person attendance.

India: an inflection point for flexibility

41% of Indian developers work in-office, while 26% prefer it
40% want hybrid, but only 32% get it
India’s in-office preference (26%) is the highest among the surveyed regions, yet still means 3 in 4 Indian developers prefer less time in the office

India’s tech workforce stands at an inflection point. While 41% of developers in India work full-time in the office, only 26% want to. That 26% is the highest in any major region we surveyed, pointing to a stronger cultural acceptance of onsite work, shaped by norms in large domestic IT firms where face time is often tied to mentorship and team cohesion.

But even in India, just one in four developers actually prefer being in the office full-time. That says a lot about how far the workplace has shifted. And where it’s heading.

Meanwhile, fully 40% of Indian developers say they want a hybrid setup. What’s driving the shift?

The commute is crushing. Daily travel in cities like Bangalore and Mumbai takes a toll. Hybrid and remote models offer a chance at balance.
Distributed work is already part of the culture. India’s tech ecosystem is deeply global—spanning product companies, consulting firms, and startups that work across time zones. Async collaboration isn’t new; it’s a growing norm.
Mentorship matters, but so does autonomy. While early-career developers may benefit from being in the room, mid- and senior-level engineers often prefer the focus and flexibility of hybrid or remote setups.

Overall, India’s in-office culture is evolving, but it hasn’t fully caught up with what developers want. Tradition and leadership expectations keep many roles anchored to physical offices. That’s why employers who lead with flexibility, especially thoughtful hybrid models, can stand out in a competitive talent market.

Latin America: remote isn’t a perk, it’s the norm

82% of developers want remote work
66% currently have it
1% clamor for full-time in-office work

Latin America shows the strongest preference for remote work of any region. If anything, it’s more than just a preference; it’s essentially unanimous.

Why? Latin America’s remote preference appears driven by several factors:

Access to higher-paying global jobs while maintaining local cost of living
Excellent time zone alignment with US employers
Significant commute times in congested urban tech hubs like São Paulo and Mexico City
Strong freelance and contractor culture already normalized remote work

Age doesn’t tell the story you might expect

Younger developers aren’t universally driving remote-first attitudes:

Ages 18-24:

45% currently in-office
31% prefer in-office (↓14 pts)

Ages 25-34:

31% currently remote
44% prefer remote (↑13 pts)

Contrary to common assumptions, the youngest developers (18-24) show more openness to office work than other age groups. While they still prefer less office time than they currently have, their shift away from the office isn’t as dramatic as their slightly older peers.

It’s also worth noting that it’s relative. Yes, the youngest developers are more open to in-office work, but that 31% is where that preference tops out. The 18-24 cohort is as likely to prefer remote work, and more likely to prefer having a hybrid option.

Why? Several factors might explain this counterintuitive finding:

Early-career developers benefit more from in-person mentorship and direct observation
Building initial professional networks happens more naturally face-to-face
Recent graduates may have less optimal home working environments
Many entered the workforce during or after the pandemic, so office work may feel novel rather than restrictive

The 25-34 age group shows the strongest shift toward remote work, with a 13-point gap between current and preferred remote arrangements. These developers are likely established enough to work independently but may also be entering life stages (like starting families) where flexibility becomes more valuable.

Older developers (45+) show the strongest preference for hybrid work, suggesting they value maintaining some connection to the office while gaining flexibility.

Role variations likely influenced by geographic distribution

While actuals and preferences do vary by role, it’s nowhere near as pronounced as by geography. And even then, a lot of the variation may be due to the geographic distribution of certain roles.

For example, security and cloud engineers report higher levels of flexibility, but those roles are also more distributed in geographies with greater flexibility, such as the United States. In our survey, 6% of front-end developers say they are in the United States, compared to 15% of cloud engineers and 14% of security engineers.

The return-to-office elephant in the room

Despite clear developer preferences for more flexibility, many major tech employers continue mandating office attendance. This is driven by several factors:

Commercial real estate commitments and sunk costs
Executive bias toward in-person work and visible productivity
Concerns about collaboration and innovation
Organizational control and traditional management approaches

What’s particularly striking is that these return-to-office mandates often apply globally, ignoring the significant regional variations we’ve documented.

Misalignment risks

In regions like Latin America, APAC, and Africa, remote preference is high, but office presence remains the norm in many companies. This misalignment creates real risks, such as recruitment and retention challenges and possible geographic hiring limitations.

Calibrate by role and region

Our data suggests a one-size-fits-all approach to work arrangements is increasingly untenable. Some examples of calibrated approaches:

Hybrid may work better in the US and Europe
Remote-first may be crucial for Latin American teams
India may benefit from a transition plan from primarily in-office to primarily hybrid

Employer flexibility should map to local norms, not headquarters preferences.

Global preferences, local strategies

The direction is clear: developers want flexibility. But their reality often depends more on geography than role. Employers that recognize these local nuances, rather than just enforce global policies, will win the global talent race.

Future posts in this series will explore additional deep cuts from our data, including AI usage patterns, learning behaviors, and hiring friction points. Follow along for more insights from the 2025 Developer Skills Report.

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