Sixty-one percent of U.S. workers are contemplating professional or lifestyle changes that will impact the workplace going forward. In addition, some form of remote work will be a permanent solution for nearly half of American employees. That’s according to a national survey from Weber Shandwick, United Minds and KRC Research, with implications for office occupiers.

The survey’s key findings include:

• Forty-one percent of U.S. workers say they plan to work from home full- or part-time in the future;
• A higher proportion of workers with children (52%) say they plan to work from home full- or part-time in the future than those without children (33%);
• Eleven percent plan to change jobs.

U.S. employees in the survey report high productivity levels while working from home. Seventy percent of those working from home say they work as productively or better at home, while 85% say they have the tools and resources they need. Given the choice, 74% say they’d like to continue working from home rather than go to their place of work every day.

“Workers across industries showed incredible resilience in quickly shifting to a remote work environment when the pandemic struck—and what we’re seeing now is the future of the workplace and workforce being re-designed in real-time,” said Kate Bullinger, president of United Minds. “Leaders who want to retain and attract top talent cannot rely on past workplace models even after the pandemic subsides.”

In the latest survey, conducted just before Labor Day weekend, respondents were asked questions related to remote work, including support and flexibility from employers, and how their ways of working may change permanently as a result of the pandemic.

Along with changes in how people work, the findings show rising comfort and productivity levels among employees working from home, along with continued fear about returning to the physical workplace due to COVID-19.

If given the choice by their employer to return to the workplace before there is a vaccine, 65% say they will continue working from home until there is a vaccine, with only 13% saying they’ll go back to the office full-time. If not given the choice, 60% would request to continue working from home until there is a vaccine, while 28% will return to work and 4% will look for another job.

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Article from Connect Commercial Real Estate, October 30, 2020