'Many believe the big, forced experiment has been a success, proving productivity doesn’t require a cubicle'
While one-third (33.3 per cent) of workers either hope or expect to completely return to the office, nearly one-fifth (19.1 per cent) hope or expect to work from home for five days or more per week, according to a survey by O.C. Tanner.
Some want to have the option for three (15.6 per cent) or two (15.5 per cent) days, while a smaller percentage of workers want it for four days (9.1 per cent) and once per week (7.4 per cent).
“For well over a month, we’ve seen respondents who enjoy working from home anticipate some remote flexibility will continue after the world gets a vaccine,” says O.C. Tanner. “Many believe the big, forced experiment has been a success, proving productivity doesn’t require a cubicle. But now we’re getting a clearer picture of what they have in mind.”
When it comes to returning to the physical office for workers in Canada, 44 per cent say they would prefer to work remotely in the long term, while 45 per cent are looking forward to a return to the workplace, according to a survey from ADP Canada.
Not ready to come back
The O.C. Tanner survey also found that a majority (79 per cent) of workers believe that it’s still too soon to bring remote workers back, up by five per cent compared to the previous week, found the survey of 1,189 workers across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
And though layoffs, furloughs, and pay and benefit reductions are holding steady with no meaningful changes, workers had a 4.6-per-cent increase in engagement and a 4.3-per-cent decrease in sense of isolation compared to a week ago.
However, workers' self-reported productivity also saw a 4.2-per-cent decrease.
More respondents (up 6.2 per cent from last week) also feel that they are at greater risk of being infected with COVID-19, which could be due to a 12-per-cent jump in organizations re-opening retail and public operations or a 10.3-per-cent increase in those bringing remote workers back to the workplace, says O.C. Tanner.
Thirty per cent of American workers are planning to look for a new job once the pandemic is over, and most (57 per cent) say they will make the jump so they can work remotely, according to another survey from fintech startup Self Financial.
