
October 2020
The Work-From-Home Experiment: What A Global Survey Reveals & How This Will Shape The Future Workplace
By: Carrie S. Holstead
Due to the pandemic, ITRA Global just completed its first virtual conference during which Dr. Anita Kamouri, Co-Founder of Iometrics, revealed what her company discovered in one of the largest global work from home experience surveys ever completed, as well as how this will shape the future workplace. Below you will find the not to be missed highlights.
Remote Work Success Factors
While only 9% of employees worked from home five days per week prior to the pandemic, some 77% are still working from home full time and 68% are very successful at it, despite the distractions. Additionally, though some
employees are less satisfied with performance involving others (collaboration, coaching, and mentoring), they are more satisfied with performance of individual work activities at home. Also, despite not having the same work resources at home such as a sit to stand desk, dual screens, an ultra-wide monitor, or an ergonomic chair (important because they are tied to productivity and employee health & safety), 77% of employees appreciate the flexibility of work from home and feel it improves their well-being because they eat healthier and nearly half say it gives them more time for exercise. Still, 47% of avoided commute time is used for additional work, which currently equates to about a half hour per day or 3 weeks per employee per year.
The Future Workplace
When factoring in all of the remote work success factors and recognizing that 76% of employees want to work from home on a regular basis post pandemic, along with most respondents who work in open space being willing to give up their assigned workspace in exchange for one which is unassigned in order to work from home in the future, it is projected that employees on average will work from home 2.5 days per week post pandemic. Compared to full time work in the office, this is estimated to increase productivity per employee by one and a half weeks per year, based on what this survey has revealed about the work from home experience. However, there is not a one size fits all workplace solution. Instead, there will be three workplace paths following the pandemic, including: going back to “normal”; evolving to a blended workplace; or creating the future of work.
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