Is Working From Home Here to Stay?

After working from home has become the new norm amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many experts think that this extraordinary situation could have a profound impact on the way we work in the long run.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances keeping them at home, many workers have grown fond of the added flexibility and time gained by not having to commute to work every day. Some employers on the other hand fear that Pandora’s box has been opened and that they’re going to have a hard time denying their staff the option to work remotely once the pandemic has been contained.

According to a recent survey conducted by getAbstract, 43 percent of U.S. full-time workers in the U.S. would like to work remotely more often after COVID-19, citing the absence of a commute, added flexibility and productivity gains as the main motivations behind that wish. Many workers aren’t so sure if their employer will be on board with this however, as 31 percent of respondents state that they don’t expect their company to adopt a more flexible policy in the future. Meanwhile 26 percent expect their employers to allow more flexibility going forward, with another 20 percent having already heard of such discussion within their company.

There are downsides to working from home as well though, as the survey results confirm. 27 percent of the respondents state they’d feel isolated if they continued working from home after the pandemic, while 20 percent cite technological flaws as a drawback and 19 percent fear becoming detached from their company and colleagues.