As the world’s largest work-from-home experiment continues, many are wondering what has changed in the work world. What do employees think about working remotely, and how have companies changed in response to the pandemic?
A July study by Quartz and Qualtrics sought out the answers to these questions and more. A worldwide survey of 2,100 adult workers asked about their companies before and during the pandemic.
Perspectives on Remote Work
The survey found that 54% of people like working from home, whereas only 19% of people dislike it. 55% of people who switched from working outside of the house to remote work said they prefer working from home.
Flexibility in Returning
Returning to the office is one thing. When and how people return to the office is another. More than half of those surveyed (51%) said that their company is being flexible about how soon they need to return to in-person work, though 23% say their company is not being flexible. In the U.S., over two-thirds (67%) of workers report their company is being flexible.
However, even if companies are being flexible about their employees returning to the office, 68% of respondents want to continue working remotely some or all of the time in the future. Nearly three-quarters of millennials (72%) are interested in remote work compared to 50% of baby boomers, while 72% of urban workers and 61% of rural workers want to continue working remotely.
COVID-19’s Impact on Company Culture
COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of life. However, one often overlooked impact is that on company culture. The survey asked respondents to compare their company culture before and during the pandemic.
Seventy percent of all respondents said their company culture was positive before the pandemic and 37% of all workers say their company culture has improved during the pandemic. Fifteen percent said it got worse.
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However, those who agreed that their company’s culture was positive before the pandemic were also twice as likely to say it’s improved during the pandemic. And those who said their company culture was negative before the pandemic were 3.4 times more likely to say it had become worse. Thus, positive cultures translated well to the remote environment and negative corporate cultures also carried over.
Of those who said their company’s culture improved, 80% said that colleagues had become kinder, and 71% said people at their company had become more generous.
Just less than half of respondents (48%) said that they feel more connected to their company, while nearly the same amount (51%) report feeling more loyal to their organization since the beginning of the pandemic. Another 52% say they now feel that their work has more purpose than before.
When asked what things companies were doing to strengthen its culture, respondents mentioned these items the most:
- Sending regular emails
- Finding new ways to help employees connect
- Having more contact with their managers than before the pandemic
- Spearheading more online social events
- Creating informal chat channels
Worker Burnout
Burnout is something that can happen to any worker at any time in any job. This survey found that 47% of respondents report feeling burned out since the pandemic began. Millennials and Gen Z are 89% more likely to experience burnout than baby boomers.
However, 49% of those surveyed say their company has taken steps to help prevent burnout, including:
- Offering more flexible more hours
- Changing performance goals and expectations
- Providing resources to help improve remote work
- Making additional counseling and mental health benefits available
- Providing additional paid time off
FlexJobs Can Help
While remote work isn’t for everyone, it’s clearly something that many employees are interested in continuing when the pandemic ends. If your company is among the many either switching to fully remote work or a blended office, FlexJobs can help your remote work integration go smoothly. Since 2007, we’ve been helping companies make remote and flexible work a part of their company culture.
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