Are you working from home more?
Has the pandemic changed the way that you work?
We’re going to look at the working from home trend that is affecting so many of us right now.
You may have your own personal feelings on this, and it’s interesting to see how many of us feel about this new and often unforeseen trend.
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Do You Like This Trend?
Though it was definitely unforeseen for many people, the idea of working from home is likely here to stay for a little while.
It may be working well for you, it may have its challenges, or you may have settled into an alternative schedule.
Let’s take a look at the survey so that you can at least get a feel for what others are thinking or wanting in their future work situation.
The overall take from this is that many workers would prefer to keep working from home at least some of the time.
Most people working from home due to the coronavirus wouldn’t be disappointed if the change were permanent, a new HuffPost/YouGov survey finds.
By Monica Torres andAriel Edwards-Levy 05/26/2020 06:00pm EDT | Updated May 27, 2020
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This survey was put out and published by HuffPost/YouGov and it’s a very interesting one.
When you look at this survey you have to keep in mind that people are working from home more than they might have ever expected to.
Some people work better in this way, and some people may struggle with productivity and distractions.
Here’s the survey: https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2020/05/26/5ecd4723c5b68bbad062d0b3.pdf Huffpost/YouGov survey
The main question in this survey was “If it were up to you and coronavirus were no longer a concern, which would you prefer?”
- Working from home all the time: 15%
- Working from home on some days, and working in an office or other workplace on other days: 23%
- Working in an office or other workplace all time: 16%
- Not sure : 5%
- This question does not apply to me : 41%
There are other fascinating parts of this survey that we may cover another day, but first we will focus on preferences regarding working from home, or WFH as people often refer to it.
Are any of these results surprising to you?
This survey is interesting because it highlights people’s thoughts on a very current and pertinent topic.
We’re going to look at these results, and you can see how this might impact your own life as well.
Understanding These Results
One of the things that stand out the most is that most people who said that the question applied to them would prefer a “hybrid” WFH/office schedule.
So this has many implications to it, such as people may want the best of both worlds.
You may not feel ready to go back full time, but it can be nice to have at least a little time in the office.
These results show that a hybrid work schedule may be a great way to go.
This would allow you to work from home part of the time, but also get some office time.
These results may be surprising, but they go to show that there are benefits at both ends of the spectrum that are interesting to note.
You may find that you are more productive when you work from home.
You may find that there are more distractions and therefore it interferes with your mindset and focus when you work from home.
It can be great to have some of the flexibility that comes with working from home.
Though you may have your own feelings and your own personal situation, it can be quite interesting to see how this affects others.
You probably feel like many others that this is an unusual and unforeseen situation, ,and it’s interesting to take a step back and look at how so many of us feel about all of this.
Positives and Negatives of Working From Home
As with anything, there are positives and negatives to this type of situation.
You probably feel these in your own life and your own situation, and therefore they can be quite interesting to think through.
Do the positives outweigh the negatives?
Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives, and you can see which ones you feel and agree with on either end.
Benefits of working from home
- Flexibility: You can certainly make your hours more flexible, which is a huge benefit. You can change meetings around or work a certain schedule, as it’s all from the comfort of your own home.
- No commute: Think of the time that you save when you don’t have to commute into the office. You likely save a ton of time by just going to your dedicated home office space, rather than having to get into the office and home again.
- Your own space: You can set up your own home office space however works best for you. It can be free of distractions and therefore be helpful to have your own unique spot in your home to focus and be productive.
- Safe: This is especially important right now during Covid. You know that you are safe within your own home office space, and away from any potential dangers. You aren’t interacting with people, and that means that you can rest easy that this is a good environment especially right now.
Negatives of working from home
- Too much video chat: If you are like most people then you probably get so sick of being online and doing video chats. All meetings are on Zoom or other types of platforms and they may seem to take up your day and make you feel as if you are stuck on these constantly.
- Miss out on human connection: The reality is that video chats aren’t the same at all! You may be missing out on actual human face-to-face interaction. It can get a bit lonely sometimes and you may miss the relationships that you have in person.
- Collaboration may not be quite as easy: There are always going to be times when you need to collaborate with your coworkers. You may have a big project to do or just need to talk through important work issues. It’s not quite as easy to collaborate online to get this all accomplished.
- Hard to stop working: You may feel as if you are always working because it’s easy to fall into this trap from home. You may find it’s harder to stop working because it’s always there and always accessible. When you are in the office it’s a lot easier to have a clear cut end time.
Do you think that you’re more or less productive?
Do you think that office life as we once knew it is over?
It will be interesting to see what happens, as it certainly feels like a traditional schedule is somewhat outdated.
Good Vocabulary Around This Topic
There are some good vocabulary words and phrases that come with this topic.
You have likely heard some of these as they are a big part of the conversation right now.
- WFH: This is the simple abbreviation for Work From Home. You likely hear this a lot right now as so many of us are doing it.
- Telework/telecommute: This means that you are working from home and using the technology provided to you from home. It’s another more professional way of saying that you are working from home.
- Working remotely: This essentially means the same thing, though when you say working remotely it could apply to nearly any environment. You may be doing this from any place in the world, and so it’s not just necessarily from home.
- Home office: This is your own dedicated work space in your home. It may be an actual office, or it may be at the kitchen table. This is where you get your work done at home.
You see that these are the hot words right now, and you probably hear them used in conversation all the time.
Try them out for yourself as you talk about your own unique work situation.
Takeaway
Are you working from home?
Do you like it?
Would you like to do one, the other, or have a permanent hybrid?
This is a topic that affects many of us at this time, particularly during the global pandemic.
It may be interesting to take note of how you work in this capacity, and if it is more positive or negative for you.
We all have our own personal feelings on this, and therefore it’s a good thing to stay in touch with.
We can dive into this more in the future, because chances are that this isn’t going away anytime soon.
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
