Readers: Are you ready to give up remote work?
After two years of remote work, we want to know how you feel about returning to the office.
Are you ready to return to your office after two years of working from home? If you’re like most American workers, the answer might not be so enthusiastic.
Fifty-nine percent of workers who can do their jobs remotely are still working from home, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center, and most have no desire to stop even as other pandemic limitations start to lift.
The citywide vaccination mandate ended earlier this week as a result of dropping cases and hospitalizations, and we might head into the spring without another variant to worry about.
There have been various times throughout the pandemic when it seemed that things were settling down long enough for employers to start seriously considering bringing their workers back into the office, but most people have continued to do their 9 to 5 from home.
In March of last year, as more people in the state were getting vaccinated for the first time, we asked readers if they were more comfortable returning to in-person work. At the time, only 11% of the almost 2,000 readers polled said they wanted to be back in an office.
Sentiments hadn’t changed much by summertime. By then, some readers said they had already returned to the office, but the majority had continued to work from home and said they hadn’t had any problems with their productivity.
Most readers polled in August said they preferred a remote job, and 44% said they’d like a hybrid work schedule. Commuting to and from work was a big reason readers are hesitant to be back fully in person.
“Many of my employees are resistant about returning to the office. They argue that they’ve done their jobs successfully from home, why do they NEED to return to the office full-time?” said Elizabeth, a human resources director. “Most of them would agree to a hybrid model. The employees seem to be in the driver’s seat on this issue. We can’t afford to lose employees who can find a remote/hybrid job elsewhere.”
Our Community survey asking readers for their work preference has ended.
Now, more than two years into the pandemic and with the most recent surge behind us, it looks like many employers who were still holding out are finally ready to bring their employees back to their offices.
Some small businesses owners who rely on regular foot traffic from in-person office work have even called on workers to return to the office for the sake of the local economy. Business leaders and employers are starting to make the argument that returning to normalcy learning to live with the virus means returning to work.
Let us know how you’re thinking about the return to work by filling out the survey below or emailing us at [email protected] and we may feature your response in a future article.
We want to know how readers feel about the return to the office. Do you feel ready to return to a typical in-person workday? If your employer calls you back in the coming months, do you plan to return or will you look for work that allows you more flexibility? For those who have already made the return, we want to know how things are different in your office.
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.