Throughout studies, it has been shown that the majority of workers prefer not to work from an office any longer. Yes, the World has changed and the global health crisis has changed people’s priorities. Moreover, a recent Pew study has re-confirmed that nearly 60 percent of U.S. remote workers want to work from home.
Another notable report (Buffer’s 2022 State of Remote Work) further reaffirms the change of employees preference showing that 97% of workers say that they would like to work remotely forever.
Corporate real estate firms will see their office portfolios decrease by 52% over the next three years, a sign that companies are shifting their focus toward reducing office space.
There is now more leverage in the hands of workers, which is one of the reasons I think. In the pre-Covid era, it was not uncommon for people to request to work from home from time to time, and employers could politely deny the request.
In terms of the workers' perspective, remote work provides a better work-life balance that leads to better nutrition, more exercise, and a healthier lifestyle.
Professionals can get more sleep in the morning when they don't commute to the office. Depending on where you are in the world, commutes to the office might be a big deal. In the UK, commutes have always been a problem, with the average Londoner commuting for 54 minutes in each direction. A recent poll found that two-thirds of Londoners found using public transportation to be the most stressful part of living in the city.
Remote work also comes with better eating-habits, more time with the family, regular exercise and others.
It is as simple as that.
“Remote work provides a better work-life balance that leads to better nutrition, more exercise, and a healthier lifestyle.”
Probably not. Evidence from biology, neuroscience, and psychology now supports the change in employee behavior. It is a responsibility of the employers to catch-up and adapt to the situation. adapt to employees' needs - and to honor our employees' strength as people by doing so.
While there are still many differences of opinion between employers regarding the importance of human physical and face-to-face collaboration, the solution probably falls somewhere in the middle, but one thing is certain, work will never be the same again. Hybrid working models are a great solution for employers and employees demanding flexible working arrangements.
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