Work habits have been transformed by the coronavirus pandemic and employers are acknowledging that things may never go back to how they were.
A survey by a Carlsbad-based consulting company says more than three-quarters of respondents want to keep working from home at least some of the time after the pandemic quarantine is over. Only six percent said they would not want to work from home in the future.
Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, said a key to operating a successful work-from-home program is trust. She said managers who have worked from home are more likely to trust that employees are being productive when working remotely.
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Employees report in the survey that when they are working on tasks alone, they are more productive at home than they are at work. They report distractions and interruptions occur more frequently at work than they do at home.
60% of employees also said they would be willing to give up their assigned desk at work in exchange for the opportunity to work at home some or all of the time.
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Lister said Zoom meetings require more attention than in-person meetings and can be tiring, but can also bring work teams closer together as they see each other in their home environments.
Businesses around the nation are working on workplace modifications to keep employees safe when they do come back to work. Lister said they are doing things like reducing the number of chairs in every space by 50 percent and developing technology to allow doors to be opened and closed without touching a door handle.
Some larger companies are not planning to be fully back in operation until late in the year, Lister said.
