The Ultimatum Risk: Forcing employees back was a massive retention risk. 60% of workers who weren’t given a choice about returning said it was grounds for them to look for a new job. Housing crisis examined the financial backdrop of those relocation decisions, finding that pandemic-era remote work had already accelerated moves away from high-cost metro areas, with many workers unable to afford homes near their original offices.
A recent trending LinkedIn headline asked, “Is Fall Canceled?” The plans that many corporations had put in place to bring workers back to the office are suddenly being amended with the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. As information about rising infection rates is released, We used the PureSpectrum Insights Platform to poll workers in the US to see how they feel about returning to the office. The pup report: insights around dog ownership found that 30% of the dog-owning workforce said they would consider leaving their jobs if required to return to the office without their pets, a direct data point on how the work-from-home shift reshaped employee retention expectations.
81% of the workers we polled are back in the office at least once a week, and 57% reported being somewhat willing to return. America’s coffee consumption covered the morning-routine side of that return, finding that workers’ coffee and caffeine habits were in flux as hybrid schedules disrupted the rituals built around office commuting. Workers credit productivity, in-person mentorship, and work from home flexibility as their top perks to entice them back.
Source: PureSpectrum Insights Platform
Interestingly, when we used the filtering tool on the Insights Platform, we saw that men are almost twice as likely to report being “extremely willing” to return to the office than women (44% vs. 24%).
But what about workers who are choosing to stay home? It’s not just health fears that are keeping them remote. Only about 40% of the group that showed hesitancy to return to the office full time stated it was ultimately because of COVID-19 related fears. It seems that many people have adapted and prefer to keep their work/home life blend. Top responses mention wanting to keep flexibility in work hours and feeling less productive in the office.
Many offices are making the choice not to give workers ultimatums. Over 60% of employees report having been given the choice on whether or not they wanted to return to the office, while only 9% said they are still waiting to hear if they are going to be required to return. But 60% of those who were not given a choice if they wanted to return, say it’s grounds for them to seek other employment. About the same amount of workers (64%) who are still waiting to know their fall work status, say they will look for new employment if they aren’t given the choice.
In summary, fall isn’t canceled. It just probably won’t look exactly like it did pre-pandemic. Flexibility and choice seem to be the theme of returning to work and 2021 as a whole. Corporate America must remain nimble and up to date with government recommendations and protocols. Most office workers seem happy to return but have the ability to work in whatever capacity the new variants will dictate.
Want to learn more about running your own survey? See how easy it is on our Insights Platform.
Interested in getting access to this data? Email us at marketing@purespectrum.com
Methodology
PureSpectrum interviewed 150 online respondents on August 5th, 2021 using the PureSpectrum Insights Platform. The platform is integrated with the PureSpectrum Marketplace which combines proprietary measurement tools and third-party data validation to quickly collect high-quality insights. The study fielded in less than 2 hours and targeted employed office workers within the United States and consisted of a general population audience of 18+ years old. This study uses a 95% confidence level to examine the data.