by Refresh Leadership on May 24, 2021 in Innovation and Productivity, Leadership and Management, Workplace
According to research from the Pew Research Center, the COVID-19 Pandemic changed the way we work. Before the pandemic, only one-in-five employees reported working from home all or a majority of the time. As of October 2020, that number had jumped to 71%. Of that number, over 50% say they desire to continue working remotely even after the pandemic.
Although employers traditionally worried that remote work would result in reduced productivity, those surveyed report that is not the case. Eighty-seven percent said it was very or somewhat easy to have the technology and equipment they needed to do their job, while 80% were meeting deadlines and completing projects on time.
This is only the tip of the iceberg for the benefits of remote work.
It’s What Workers Want
A survey from Growmotely found that only 3% of entrepreneurs and professionals want to work full time at a physical office after COVID-19. While some seek balance between physically being in the office and working remotely, 61% prefer a fully remote environment. In fact, a survey from Owl Labs found that 23% of full-time employees would take a pay cut of 10% or more to work from home in some capacity. Seventy-seven percent said that continuing to work from home after COVID-19 would increase their happiness levels. One in two of those surveyed even said they wouldn’t return to a job that didn’t offer remote work. This means that providing flexible and fully remote time positions can help employers attract and retain top employees.
It Increases Productivity
Remote work prompted an increase in productivity even before the pandemic. In a 2015 survey put out by CoSo Cloud, 77% of workers surveyed reported greater productivity while working remotely, with 30% accomplishing more in less time, and 24% accomplishing more in the same amount of time.
As reported by SHRM, Mercer, an HR and workplace benefits consulting firm, 94% of 800 employers surveyed said productivity was the same or higher than it was before the pandemic, even with employees working remotely.
“As organizations are thinking toward the longer term, they are looking at how they can execute flexibility at scale to deliver on the value of flexible working, like enhanced performance and productivity, a better employee experience, an expanded talent pool, and, in some cases, potentially reduced costs,” said Lauren Mason, a principal and senior consultant at Mercer.
Remote Work is Here to Stay
Like it or not, remote work is likely here to stay. A survey conducted by Growmotely found that 76% of entrepreneurs and 74% of professionals believe remote work will likely “become the new normal.” A Gartner survey similarly discovered that 80% of company leaders expect to allow employees to work remotely in some capacity after the pandemic. Forty-seven percent will allow employees to work from home 100% of the time.
Employers can rest easy knowing that implementing more permanent remote work situations will not be a temporary fix. Putting resources into remote work is worth the effort.
