Majority of firms now have all staff at home (and want to keep it that way)

Nearly three quarters (74%) of business owners and CEOs now say all employees at their company are working remotely, compared with just 7% before the pandemic, with many anticipating staff will want to continue this trends after the pandemic.

The new normal: Third of employees expected to work remotely after the pandemic

In the past year, the world has become reliant on technology to stay connected, which has had a huge impact on the nature of the workforce. It is predicted that 42% of the US labour force is currently working from home full-time.

The team at Expert Market were interested in how companies have found the switch, and what their plans for the uncertain future are. They surveyed 100 businesses based in North America and Europe from a range of industries and found:

74% of business owners and CEOs said all employees at their company are working remotely
Before the pandemic, only 7% of participants said the majority of employees were working remotely
72% anticipated employees will want to remain working from home, even once the organization returns to the office.

The overwhelming majority of businesses (90%) see positive benefits in working from home including increased employee engagement and happiness, yet at the same time, 71% said they have witnessed negative impacts, such as a reduction in productivity, difficulty maintain work-life balance, and difficulty assessing accountability. 63% of businesses are unsure when their employees will return to the office, but the most anticipated times for returning were January 2021, Spring 2021, or introducing staggered return times. 67% reported using Zoom and Email to keep in touch with colleagues, followed closely by Slack. Skype, which has seen a fall in popularity over recent years, was only reported by 12.7% of respondents.