Many of us, just before our work begins, wake up with this jolly thought in our minds. There is no need to take a dog for a walk at daybreak, iron your clothes, rush to catch the bus, or sit in traffic.
If the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive, it has to be the growth of working from home.
Some love it, remote work advocates have raised their voices loudly in support. But some hate it. Neighbors doing renovations, crying babies, feelings of loneliness, FOMO, and more. The benefits are obvious, but the frustrations are real too.
Regardless of which camp you’re in, it can’t be denied that the world of work has changed irreversibly.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2019 to 2021, the number of people working from home tripled from 5.7% to 17.9%. Remote work is seen as a huge success by employers and employees alike. A 2021 PwC survey revealed that 83% of employers say remote work has been a positive move for their company According to Buffer’s State of Remote Work Survey, 98%of remote workers want to continue home office at least some of the time. Hybrid work is here for good. Workers are ready to make sacrifices to stay remote. Owl Labs found that 46% would take a pay cut of up to 5% to work at least part of the time remotely. Despite the above, around 44% of companies worldwide don’t allow remote work. And as our survey shows, 60% of employees who are working remotely now would rather quit their current job than return to the office. More on that later. But remote work isn’t just about health issues anymore. Now, it’s about money, time, and flexibility.
Add to these rising salary expectations, inflation, dissatisfaction, and the quiet quitting trend, and you get an explosive mix. All indications are that the remote vs. office war is heating up, and now more than ever, we need a data-driven view of the battlefield.
Zety took up the challenge and surveyed 1000+ US workers to predict the future of the new office reality. This allowed us to answer the following questions:
What do employees want from work?
Will employees really quit when forbidden to work remotely?
Will the desire to lure workers to the offices turn out to be just a fantasy?
What benefits do staff really value?
Are fancy office perks all they’re cracked up to be?