Study: Most employers say they will allow remote work post-pandemic

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It's widely accepted that after the pandemic most people will work both in the office and remotely. A new study sheds light on what that this hybrid approach will look like, including some employees willing to personally pay for office space.

In a blind study, WeWork and HR research and advisory company Workplace Intelligence asked 2,000 employees and executives their views on hybrid work. They found 95% of employees want some control over how, where and when they work, with a similar percentage of bosses who said they're willing to give them that control.

Among executives, 79% said they plan to let employees split time between corporate offices and remote locations, if their jobs allow it.

This does not bode well for the owners of office space, since less time in the office likely would reduce demand for office space.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/04/13/employers-remote-work-post-pandemic.html uKd77JfE0w

Microsoft global survey shows ‘hybrid work’ is here to stay

Almost exactly a year ago Microsoft closed its campuses and sent its employees home to work from their laptops as the pandemic overwhelmed the U.S. and the world. Every other major technology company did the same. As did accounting, real estate, law firms and more.

What was thought at the time to be a six-week reprieve from the daily commute stretched into more than a year. But that was just the beginning, Microsoft said in a report on the new realities of work released Monday.

Now that Covid-19 vaccines are here and there’s hope of reopening offices again later this year, the nature of how people do their jobs — and from where — has fundamentally changed. It’s a seismic cultural shift that amounts to the biggest and most sudden change in the global workforce in recent memory.

“The year 2020 changed work forever,” Microsoft said in a report titled, “The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work — Are We Ready?”

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/03/23/microsoft-survey-hybrid-work.html

[AZSkiffyGeek]

1. My company is shifting to WFH permanently

They still h e some office jobs, but it is reduced. They’re also starting to hire for corporate positions in Phoenix throughout our business footprint - we have one person from Arkansas and one from Idaho on my team now.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. I don't get the value of "we work".

I get that Urban companies will continue to use off-site and downsize total rental space, but it really makes sense. Team meetings can be important, but zooming is a legit option.

[NullTuples]

3. My employer has no plans to go back

We were lucky & our office lease ended last year. We negotiated a move to another property owned by the same company and are saving a truly amazing amount over the course of the new lease. The only increase in cost that counterbalanced the savings was a much thicker Internet pipes & VPN concentrators to handle the work from home traffic.

I now start work at 8:30 or 9 many days, occasionally at 6 am, sometimes in sweats. I stop at 4 and often hop back on in the evening to finish up if I feel the need. Cameras on web meetings are always optional at our company and my entire department (except for two people) opt not to use them. The marketing & sales departments on the other hand, love them. Good for them.

I have time & energy to be with the kids, water the garden and feed the birds. Prior to working from home I'd get home each day almost burnt out & my weekends were spend recharging in a near stupor to be able to face the sensory & social nightmare that was our open floor plan office. I get far more done now, as do my coworkers in our department, and it shows on the bottom line.

[Unwind Your Mind]

4. It's so much better for your quality of life

I’ve been self employed at home for 12 years now and I really do get more done in 5-6 hours than I ever did in an office environment with all its distractions.

And, I can go to the dog park in the middle of the day

[forgotmylogin]

9. It's actually cost effective for companies.

They don't have to maintain as much office space, insurance, utilities...etc.

In many cases, work-at-home employees can use their own equipment and write it off on their taxes.

Especially for jobs like phone customer service, there's little real benefit to gathering employees physically together when everything can be done online via chat and training via video-conference, and it is a real plus to workers and the environment to remove the burden of a physical commute.

[jimfields33]

5. If I had a company that was able to have my employees work from home,

I’d get rid of the building and have a meeting once a month in a hotel conference room. Mandatory of course. The money saved would be huge. The workers would be happy at least most. Maybe a raise since so much savings from getting rid of the building. Seems like a win-win to me.

[mzmolly]

6. Woo!

[beaglelover]

7. We're hopefully going back the day after Labor Day.

But we’ll be allowed to WFH a couple of days a week if we want to. Personally I can’t wait to go back to the office. I miss it and seeing my work colleagues in person.

[Yavin4]

8. This is NOT a positive trend for workers.

Corporations will use remote work to pay employees less. You won't be paid based on the cost of living of where you work. You will be paid a national average cost of living salary for your position since you can now live any where in the U.S.

Don't like your pay? Move to a low cost of living state.

[VarryOn]

10. I returned to the office back in September. It was voluntary....

And it still is. About 75% of us are coming in each day to a corporate campus that should be about 6,000 employees. Every Friday, they send out a report of how many covid cases were reported for the week. Three or four months ago, we were running 30-40 positive cases per week. The last couple of months, we're down to 2 or 3 cases. The company has arranged for any employee and their family members to get the Pfizer shots, which I've gotten.

While the return to the office is still voluntary, it's easy to notice those who aren't coming in. Within my division, I've noticed it's the older folks like me that are coming in. Most of the ones continuing to work from home are the 20-somethings.

Technology has made working from home fairly productive. It does not, however, work nearly as well as having everyone together. I've come to realize a huge amount of awareness of what's going on comes from eavesdropping and hallway conversations.