Effect of thermal and acoustic comfort on individuals’ work-from-home or office preferences

People spend much of their lives indoors, and the rise of hybrid working has increased the importance of indoor environmental quality in residential buildings. Homes have become both living and working environments. This study examines how thermal and acoustic comfort influence workspace preference during the transition to remote work. An online survey of 1513 participants across Türkiye assessed perceived comfort in home and office environments. Descriptive statistics and machine learning methods, including classification and regression trees and gradient boosting machine, were used to identify the main determinants of workspace preference. The results show that thermal and acoustic comfort jointly shape workspace choice, with thermal comfort generally having a stronger influence. Age, housing type and individual tolerance also affect preferences. Lower noise levels strengthen the influence of thermal comfort on working from home, whereas office preference is more common among apartment residents. Thermal comfort emerges as the primary factor governing workspace preference.