I watch with amazement how the office workers who normally flood the subway systems and public transit systems have adapted to the “work from home” requirements. They seem to be the forgotten contributors of the pandemic efforts.
They have modified their homes, sometimes small unit apartments and condos, to accommodate the need to access their computers, put up false backgrounds to hide the baskets of laundry or the clutter from kids that must be blocked from the view of coworkers and managers in their too often virtual meetings.
Employers have reaped the benefit of having such a versatile and adaptable group of employees from government employees, banks, insurance companies to office administrators and anyone who works in an administrative fashion. They have risen to the need and have been executing their jobs rather seamlessly. They have kept the wheels of commerce and customer service turning.
Even during a period of adjustment and uncertainty at the rise of COVID in 2020, many clerical employees embraced the work from home, took their laptops, arranged adequate internet services to accommodate the need of their employers, adjusting to the call back to the office when notified and then being sent back home again and again. Moms and dads, adjusting for child care when their children were required to learn at home. These were and are demanding times for our office workers.
Employees are engaged in electronic calendars filled with virtual meeting after virtual meeting. My daughter Allison, a risk manager, has hired and trained employees virtually and coached them daily through virtual meetings, not ever having met them in person but onboarded many effectively for her employer.
Even though commuting employees, who are now working from home, have reduced the dependence on public transit and have saved money on things such as parking costs, clothing and child care costs, they still have gone to great lengths to modify their lifestyles to accommodate their employers to continue their productivity.
What should employers expect after this pandemic eases its clutches on the office workers? Brace yourself, 60 per cent of employees would quit their jobs if they were forced to return to the office, according to a survey done by Flexjobs, a job listing service.
Not only have these employees adapted so well, one third of the employees would prefer to work from home permanently. Employers should be incredibly careful, while attempting to fill their expensive real estate offices with staff, the “call back” to work may be exceedingly difficult for staff and employer alike, the survey suggests only two per cent of employees would like to return full-time.
But what about productivity?
Employers should be aware that “77 per cent of those who work remotely at least a few times per month show increased productivity, with 30 per cent doing more work in less time and 24 per cent doing more work in the same period of time according to a survey by ConnectSolutions”. .
Looking to the future, retaining good employees is so important for companies, and they are soon to be making choices when deciding how often they want their people back in the office.
Staff have now realized a quality of life that complements the “working from home” mandate and in the meantime, employers owe a huge gratitude of thanks for these hard-working people.
Diane Suski
Retired Insurance Executive
Noelville