2 Weeks WFH Turns 1 Year. Happy Anniversary!
Well, Happy One Year Anniversary! A year ago, many of us believed we would be working from home for just two weeks, and it was going to be great while also working on flattening the COVID-19 curve. But in all honesty, we all were thinking “Hey, two weeks of sweatpants, no traffic, and limited interaction with the outside world. Doesn’t sound to bad right?”. Well jokes on us, because our fourteen-day quarantine became a 365 day and counting safer-at-home order. One year later and our clothing does not fit the same way it used to, thanks to all the snacking and shorter commutes to the kitchen. Social media has turned into a monotonous task of endless scrolling just to feel like you are interacting with the outside world. Sure, our daily commutes have been drastically cut down to being almost non-existent, and our savings have increased, due to the amount of money we are not spending on gas, eating out, and shopping because it is all become frightening to do so.
For the most part, this past year has taught us all a lot of things from our mental and physical health to our economic standings and ability to quarantine and flatten the COVID-19 curve. Working from home has never looked so great, from video conferencing burnout, virtual workout videos, mask making, and panic every time a county is shifted back in opening tiers. Within our SMS family, we all had to adjust and find balance between our work and home. For some that transition was difficult, but we have all managed to continue working remotely a year later. Things are going to be very different, and it is fascinating to see what people are thinking in regards of heading back into the office when the time is right. Within our office we conducted a poll to obtain employees outlook toward heading back into the office.
Our Findings:
1. Of the 100% of employees working remotely our pros consist of: 30% enjoy wearing sweats all day; 15% feel more comfortable not having people in their personal bubble; 35% enjoy the 30 second daily commute from the couch to their workspace; 20% have saved money from not buying lunch daily or pumping gas weekly.
2. Despite working from home, 33% of employees say it is harder to shut down after the workday (stating longer work hours); 28% battle with loneliness; 22% struggle with bad communication due to working remotely; 17% find it difficult to self-discipline between working and snacking.
3. Working from home has its advantages, but employees are looking forward to being back in the office and are excited about the little things: 22% are looking forward to free snacks and Boba runs; 47% can’t wait for office catchups and human interaction; 21% are excited to not wear PJs or sweats all day; and 10% are looking forward to a better workstation than the couch, floor or their kitchen countertop.
4. With all the excitement and precautions still in place heading back into the office is still up in the air for our employees: 45% are excited to head back to our office; 12% have become hermits and do not want to go back; and 43% are still indecisive about having to wear office clothing and interact physically with other employees through social distancing and precautions.
Even though our future is still being navigated to get us all back into the office safely, it is safe to say that employees have become one with their work from home workspace and getting back into the office will be a challenge, but it will be done.