Remote, on-site, or flexible: hybrid choice modelling of urban–rural heterogeneity in work arrangements

Amid the diversification of work arrangements post COVID-19 and rapid advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs), this study examines how urban and rural individuals in Nova Scotia choose between on-site, hybrid, and remote work. Employing hybrid choice models using the 2022–23 NovaTRAC survey data, the analysis explores the urban–rural divide in the constraining and facilitating factors influencing work arrangement preferences. The results confirm that sociodemographic, dwelling, daily activity, mobility, and accessibility attributes, as well as latent attitudinal factors, are significant determinants of work mode choice across both regions. Urban residents with digital lifestyle orientations and reduced auto dependency are more inclined toward remote and hybrid work, respectively, while in rural areas, flexible work advocacy predicts hybrid preference, and private lifestyle orientation is linked to fully remote work. These latent attitudes are further shaped by age, household size, and education. Moreover, rural residents with greater discretionary and maintenance activity needs are more likely to prefer hybrid work. Lower-income rural residents tend to work on-site, even when employed in urban areas. Urban residents without private vehicles and with limited transit access are more likely to remote work. Individuals highly engaged in non-work online activities show stronger preferences for telework in both regions. Shorter working hours and long-distance auto commutes further reinforce the likelihood of remote work. Complementary pseudo-elasticity simulations highlight that the magnitude of these effects differs markedly across urban and rural contexts, with commuting burden and reduced work duration exerting disproportionately strong impacts in rural settings.