64% Of Professionals Prefer Working From Home- Even After The Restrictions Lift
The workplace and its expectations have fundamentally shifted. This is a historic moment in the history of the world. The global economy that was once bustling and moving at an unprecedented pace has been suddenly jolted to a complete halt. As countries and states begin to lift the Coronavirus restrictions, we are left with an important question: do professionals even want to go back to the office?
Blind, the anonymous professional network with 3.5MM+ verified professionals, asked it’s platform the following questions:
- Will you prefer to continue working from home after the coronavirus restrictions lift?
- When you go back to work, how likely are you to use shared/common spaces?
- When the coronavirus restrictions lift, do you expect a flexible WFH policy to persist?
Key Findings as of (4/24-4/27) (~2,500 Responses):
- 64% of professionals prefer to continue working from home after the coronavirus restrictions lift
- 64% of professionals are less likely to use shared/common spaces
- 90% of professionals expect a flexible WFH policy to persist
- More than 90% of professionals at Amazon, Google, Uber, Salesforce, and Oracle expect a flexible WFH policy to persist
- 93% of finance industry professionals expect a flexible WFH policy to persist
Prior to COVID-19, many of the conversations the professionals on Blind were engaging in revolved around sharing their total compensation, comparing base salaries, and interview insights. However, due to increasing uncertainty in the workplace and the economy, professionals on the platform are engaging differently. Since coronavirus,, the conversations have seen a dramatic increase in search keywords and content related to layoffs, hiring freezes, working from home, investing, and H1B visas.
If professionals are already demonstrating behavioral changes, employers should value these insights and begin to adapt to these expectations now. With 9 in 10 professionals expecting more work from home flexibility, do employees even feel safe to return to work? How a company reacts today and the policies implemented in the near future will impact on what talent pool they have access to in the future. Retaining top talent will be difficult as telecommuting and flexibility will be a societal norm. These results indicate professionals expect more tolerance, patience, and understanding as they go back to work.
This puts into question dress code formalities, parental leave, and sick leave. Instead of rushing to reopen the office, companies should monetize this time and plan around workplace health, inclusivity, and hygiene. The 64% of professionals who prefer to continue working from home after the coronavirus restrictions lift, will likely feel more confident with a plan around cleaning personal workspaces, a strict sick leave policy, and a reorganization of the office plan.
These survey results also have implications that go beyond individual companies and employers. The increase of professionals who want to or will shift to remote work will have a significant impact on coworking spaces, like WeWork. If companies begin to adapt to telecommuting, they can implicitly rent less office space as a larger percentage of their employees work from home, which could directly translate into company savings.
Long-established office etiquette norms have been wholly disrupted by coronavirus and its new socially distant rules. It’s clear that until a vaccine arrives in 2021 earliest, there is no life post-coronavirus; there’s only life with coronavirus, and 64% of professionals do not want life with coronavirus in an office. Business leaders can leverage this shock to the system to remake the workplace for the better. The disruption caused by COVID-19 has granted business leaders the opportunity to transform organizations and expedite goals that were previously years away.