This Memorial Day weekend marks an inflection point for the country, as all 50 states have now at least partially reopened their economies. While many businesses are still operating at a limited capacity, it’s a first step toward bringing workers back to the office who have been logging in from home for months.
The magnitude of putting the remote work genie back in the bottle is evident in new Gallup Panel data on the proportion of employees working remotely throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and the reluctance of these workers to return to their regular workplace.
The U.S. outbreak of the novel coronavirus in March caused a rapid relocation of the American workforce to home offices—or more likely to living rooms, dining room tables and kitchen counters. According to Gallup Panel data, the percentage of employed adults saying they had worked from home specifically out of concern about the coronavirus rose from 31% in mid-March to 49% a few days later, and to 59% the week after that. Remote work leveled off at 62% in mid-April.
Gallup recently asked remote workers about their preferences for getting back to the office once restrictions on businesses and schools are lifted. About one-quarter of remote workers (26%) say that if it were up to them, they would return to their office or workplace once businesses and schools reopen. Another 25% say they would rather work from home because of concerns about the coronavirus—however, presumably once that concern subsides, they would rather return to their regular workplace.
The other half of remote workers say that if it were up to them, they would continue to work from home because they prefer it. This includes 22% for whom that’s the only reason and another 27% who cite concerns about the coronavirus in addition to personal preference. Read the full report.
