As citizens weary from the restrictions of the pandemic clamor for a return to normal, they are not all clamoring for a return to normal in-person work. Some employees have gotten used to the comforts of working from home and are in no hurry to return to the office on a full-time basis. This begs the question for companies who are managing a workforce over zoom. The work still needs to be done, innovation needs to happen, and employees need to communicate with each other, so is all this attainable from a remote or hybrid work environment? On the heels of workers not wanting to return to the office full time, many companies are accepting the hybrid idea as reality and are working to create a dynamic in-person and remote work environment.
Employee viewpoint
There are many reasons people have grown used to working at home and want to continue. For example, there is more free time in the day without a lengthy commute, and people have more energy to spend time with family. Family responsibilities like childcare and elder care are also easier to deal with if people are not in the office for 8 hours a day. There is also just a sense of ease without jumping into the rat race every morning.
Along with a lifestyle change, there is a financial component to remote work. Business Insider reported, “More than a third of those surveyed said they saved at least $5,000 a year by working from home.” Without commuting costs, lunches out, and extensive clothing budgets, people can save money in addition to improving their mental health.
Because of these reasons and many others, employee surveys have shown that working from home is here to stay. Apple has recently hit the news because nearly 90 percent of workers who responded to a survey said they “strongly agree” with the statement “location-flexible working options are a very important issue to me” and 59% of workers felt like colleagues might have to leave if not allowed flexible work.
