As we get back to our usual way of living, not everyone is dying for things to go back the way they were prior to the pandemic.
No more than 28% of office workers in the United States have returned to their workplace, but demands for things to go back to the way they were are on the rise as more and more people in the country get vaccinated.
Interestingly, a recent survey revealed that bosses who force their employees to get back to the workplace might quickly find themselves having to look for new staff, with as many as 39% of people saying they would quit if work from home was no longer an option given to them.
A large number of people have already left their jobs rather than giving up on working from the confines of their homes.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Portia Twidt, 33, a compliance specialist based in Georgia, said in recent months she had felt she and her colleagues were being pulled back into the office by their employers, even though her work quality has not diminished.
“They feel like we’re not working if they can’t see us,’ she said. “It’s a boomer power-play.”
"A six-minute meeting drove Portia Twidt to quit her job."
Interesting that employers are like, 'Come back to the office' and employees are just like, 'Nope, not for six-minute meetings or ever again.'
Never seen anything like it.https://t.co/Vr5Jyw6OZz
— Paxil Rose (@AndrewDLuecke) June 1, 2021
But Portia had enough when she was asked to drive in to work for just a 5-minute meeting.
“I had just had it,” she said.
She now works remotely for another company and couldn’t be happier.
Bloomberg reports that employees enjoying the strong flexibility of working from home are finding themselves clashing with their employers who see the office environment as vital for productivity and oversight. In a recent JP Morgan conference, CEO Jamie Dimon said that letting employees work from home did not work ‘for those who want to hustle.’
Hey leaders trying to cancel all remote work: did you forget we made it work in a pandemic?
Productivity is purpose and process, not place. It's driven by why and how we work—not where we work.
Flexibility is here to stay. Those who reject it may not behttps://t.co/UDEyrEL2TQ
— Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) June 2, 2021
But for many people, it is a long-needed change they simply cannot give up on.
New generation employees are even dying to leave the office environment for good, with around 50% of them saying they’d rather quit than give up on their flexible working conditions.
One of the main reasons listed for the need to work from home was cutting out travel times, but there’s more. The survey found that generally, people estimated they could save around $5,000 each year by working from home.
Anthony Klotz, a management professor at Texas A&M University said:
“If you’re a company that thinks everything’s going back to normal, you may be right. But it’s pretty risky to hope that’s the case.”
What are your thoughts on working from home versus the workplace? Let us know by joining the conversation in the comments and please share this article if you’ve enjoyed the read.
