COVID-19 has proven to many larger companies what home-based organizations already knew: There’s no place like home.
The pandemic has forced a rapid acceleration of remote workers and a digital transformation unlike any the world has seen previously. Companies have made more changes on this front in the last three months than they did during the previous three years.
Organizations have a new mandate for and appreciation of collaboration, online events and video conferencing tools to keep their teams connected and their operations running. These organizations learned their teams can achieve as much outside of the office or an event, a significant development as the world enters a new phase.
We commissioned The Harris Poll to learn more about what workers think about COVID-19 and what are their timelines about returning to the office. The upshot: More people will be working from home for the foreseeable future.
The “next normal” is here
A majority of Americans who are now working from home because of COVID-19 (61%) say there is not a timeline for when they might return to the traditional office.
It doesn’t matter because a clear majority (70%) say they accomplish more work as they don’t have as many distractions and in-person meetings. Even though people like the ability to work remotely, it took a pandemic to force the issue.
Interestingly, very few (8%) employed Americans worked from home before the pandemic, even though our pre-pandemic research found the home is the place where working adults are the most productive, aside from their desks, begging the question of why the home office wasn’t utilized more previously.
Many meetings are pointless
Perhaps most shocking is the number of pointless meetings many teams schedule. Of those surveyed, three-quarters said working from home during the pandemic led them to the realization many in-person meetings are not necessarily required.
The pandemic proved the point. Even though there is no clear timeframe for returning to the office, more than seven in 10 (71%) employed Americans now working from home say they collaborate equally well thanks to the availability of business communications platforms.
A similar number of those surveyed (76%) use video for conferences more often, and a clear majority (63%) can achieve more during a meeting via video from home than during an in-person meeting, the survey revealed.
Stay positive
Many workers (41%) say that working from home had a very or somewhat positive impact on their work/life balance. Conversely, roughly one-third (34%) said it had a very or somewhat negative effect.
Of the Americans who are now working from home because of the pandemic, two in five say it positively impacted their personal development. Additionally, nearly six in 10 (59%) say it positively affected the time spent with their families.
The office we once knew is fast approaching a thing of the past. Now that teams know they can work remotely and remain productive, they will want to work from wherever they are most comfortable.
The opportunity for organizations is to redefine the meaning of collaboration and the work experience. The changes that COVID-19 forced presented an opportunity for organizations to look at new approaches to addressing challenges that have persisted for some time. However, before any action, it requires an acknowledgment that they must adapt to make it happen.
Those unwilling have no excuse, especially considering the tools that are available to them.
The future of events
Similarly, more than half (54%) of employed Americans say they are not ready to attend large conferences or events for work. While this unwillingness is not necessarily a surprise, it does have ramifications for operations during the second half of the year and beyond.
As a gauge, our platform has experienced record-breaking usage and demand for webcasting and event streaming. This uptick includes a 350% increase for virtual gatherings and a 500% increase in the volume of people who engage with streamed events.
To accommodate these concerns without losing momentum, many organizations will likely employ a hybrid approach for events and conferences well into 2021. The need to guarantee safety and comfort for all attendees will remain paramount for the foreseeable future.
About the survey
The Harris Poll conducted the online survey of 2,026 U.S. adults ages 18 and older (745 employed Americans working from home due to COVID-19) on behalf of PGi from June 11-15, 2020.
