Are we getting used to WFH?

Research from BCG, Gallup and others indicate that a large majority of the workers want to continue working from home even after the Covid-19 threat subsides.

Parallel research indicates most employers seem satisfied with the new working arrangements. If some employees want to work from home part of the time after their offices reopen, most employers are quite okay with it.

In short, Covid-19 has made some major changes in how employees would like to work. Many employees are expressing a preference for splitting their time between the two, something like spending three days per week in the office and two working remotely (the 3+2 option), four days in the office and one at home or perhaps three weeks in the office and a week each month working from home.

Working remotely is not an option for many critical jobs. Moreover, enthusiasm for the hybrid workplace may wane. Only time will tell.

A BCG survey of some 12,000 U.S., German and Indian employees whose work can be done remotely, virtually anywhere there’s a high-speed internet connection, found that 60% overall—some 70% in the United States—would like to continue working from home, at least some of the time, after the pandemic dies. Interestingly, most of the managers surveyed indicated they’re open to such arrangements for their teams as well. The survey, which collected more than 1,000 responses, also confirmed that employees working remotely “believe their productivity has increased.”

According to Global Workplace Analytics, six out of 10 employers believe increased teleworking likely will reduce such costs as rent and utilities, taxes, cleaning services and even food.

We have a great exciting opportunity to reimagine work around the new remote reality, which is clearly here to stay. But it won’t be as easy as it sounds. All sorts of complex details will have to be worked out; this will be tricky. For example: Will the change be company-wide or will it vary from department to department—and who decides? Does every employee have to work a split schedule? Can the terms be negotiated on an individual basis?

And that’s not all. Among the many other factors that will have to be taken into consideration are sustainability, social connection, mental and physical well-being, the ability of employers to reliably—and in a timely manner—deploy talent where it’s needed most, and creating the infrastructure and processes that will enable and encourage collaboration using the new digital tools.

As with most things in life, even changes that most people see as beneficial come with costs and complexity. High-performing organizations will be those that can figure this out—fast.