Fewer technology professionals prefer to work remotely five days per week, according to a survey by technology jobs website Dice. Its second-quarter survey found that 29% of technology professionals wished to work remotely five days per week; that compares to 41% who said they would like to work remotely five days per week in the fourth quarter of 2020.

However, more want to work one or two days per week remotely.

Technologists’ desired number of remote work days

“It’s been incredibly interesting to see how technologists’ working preferences have changed before and during the pandemic,” Dice CEO Art Zeile said.

“While many technologists would still prefer to work 100% remotely, there is an equal desire for a hybrid approach, and we’ve actually seen fewer remote days per week become more desirable over the past year,” Zeile said. “The companies who succeed in attracting and retaining top talent will be those who take the time to build an agile approach that gives technologists flexibility and control over their work environment.”

One finding in the survey was that 51% of technology professionals said remote work makes it more difficult to develop and maintain working relationships with colleagues, up from 40% in a survey taken in the second quarter of 2020. In addition, 34% claimed they were having difficulty maintaining an effective relationship with their manager, up from 22% in the second-quarter 2020 survey.

Work-life balance also worsened for 24% of technology professionals from pre-pandemic times, the survey found. Causes were increased demands, workforce shortages and no set boundaries between home and work. Still, 33% said their work-life balance was better than pre-pandemic times and 43% said it was the same.

Technology professionals are also more interested in changing jobs. The most-recent survey found 48% expressed an interest in changing companies this year, up from 40% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The latest survey included 1,033 technology professionals employed full time and based in the US. It took place from April 16 to April 23.