What the Post-Pandemic Workplace Holds for Remote Workers

One way to predict the future of work is to understand people’s remote work experiences over the last year. Based on recent reports, one thing is clear — remote work has left a positive impression.

Many employees have discovered unexpected benefits from working from home. Advantages such as the lack of a commute, better work life balance, or even the opportunity to dress more casually, have left many employees less interested in returning to the office full time.

A recent LinkedIn poll conducted by MATRIX confirmed this sentiment. The poll of 882 workers answered the question “How do you want to return to work after the pandemic?” The most popular response was “full time remote” (50%), followed by 46% preferring a “hybrid approach,” while only 6% said they want to return to the office full time.

A FlexJobs survey of more than 2,100 people who worked remotely during the pandemic from March 17, 2021 through April 5, 2021, felt similar sentiments.

“Not only do employees want remote work post-pandemic, 58% say they would absolutely look for a new job if they weren’t allowed to continue working remotely in their current position. Plus, 65% want to work remotely full-time post-pandemic, and another 33% prefer a hybrid work arrangement,” the FlexJobs survey noted.

Some other highlights include:

  • 55% say their productivity increased while working remotely, while 33% say it stayed the same.

  • 30% say their ability to collaborate has improved in a virtual environment, compared to a traditional office.

  • One-third say their ability to collaborate has suffered (33%) and another third say it has been unchanged (34%).

  • Cost savings is listed as the second top benefit of working remotely (75%), second only to not having a commute (84%), and 38% estimate they save at least $5,000 a year from remote work.

  • Not having to travel/drive to meetings (75%), wearing comfortable clothing (58%), the ability to mute (55%) and more scheduling flexibility (51%) were the top favorite elements of video meetings.

  • 86% engaged in some kind of professional development during the pandemic.

  • 50% like video meetings versus 14% who dislike them.

  • 37% would consider relocating if they had permanent remote work.

  • 70% do not think working remotely during the pandemic has had an impact either way on their chances of promotion/advancement.

  • More than half of remote workers have a home office setup, 24% have an actual home office, and 34% have created a dedicated home office space.

“I’m not surprised to see that more than half of people working remotely during the pandemic, even under strained and unusual circumstances, appreciate its benefits to such a strong degree that they would leave their current jobs in order to keep working from home,” said Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs.

Source: FlexJobs