How Remote Work Has Impacted Relationships One Year Into COVID-19

As of mid-March, it’s been 12 months since people around the world began working from home to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Initially, many of us believed that this shift might only last a few weeks or would be temporary. But it’s now been a full year of working remotely, and there have been significant changes in both our work and personal lives—both positive and negative.

Even though remote work has its challenges, it’s also given knowledge workers the freedom and flexibility to be closer to the people that matter most in their lives, a benefit that many want to hold onto even after concerns about COVID-19 subside. In fact, up to 23 million employees are considering relocating if they are given the option to work from home permanently. The #1 reason for relocation? “To be closer to family and friends,” according to 40% of knowledge workers that responded to a new Miro and YouGov Study exploring how wellness, engagement, and relationships have changed due to the past year of remote work. The study found that over one-third of workers (34%) say that they are ‘somewhat likely’ or ‘very likely’ to relocate if remote work becomes permanent in their companies.

Although remote work has many benefits, there have been tradeoffs as well—burnout, overwork, and mental health issues, to name a few. But as more people get vaccinated and we recover from the pandemic, a hybrid model may prove to be the way forward. By allowing workers to combine remote work with in-person work, a hybrid approach offers the best of both worlds.

Remote work has provided an unexpected boost to relationships?

Over the past year, employees have realized how important their personal and professional relationships are to their overall happiness and well-being. Technology has been a key enabler for maintaining these relationships, so it’s no surprise that nearly three-quarters (72% ) of executives in a PwC survey plan to raise spending on virtual collaboration tools and 64% will invest in training for leaders to manage a more virtual workforce. However, these tools can’t duplicate casual exchanges or water cooler chats. While employees may be spending more time with their close connections, distant relationships have declined.

Despite the lack of in-person interactions, some employees report that over the past year their relationships have improved with their managers (32%), peers/colleagues on their team (25%), and peers/colleagues on other teams (21%). This may partly be because many employees are working additional hours during the pandemic, and so they’ve had more opportunities to interact with their managers and co-workers (albeit virtually). Regardless, these relationships are key to worker well-being: both positive and negative interactions at work can spill over into an employee’s personal life, especially for remote workers where the boundary between work and home has been removed.?

Managers who have maintained strong relationships with their employees have adopted behaviors such as offering encouragement (48%), making themselves consistently available (33%), offering emotional support (32%), and creating regular and structured check-ins (32%).?More than 4 in 5 managers have also helped cultivate emotional connections at work between team members during the pandemic. The benefits of this are clear: managers who made employee connectedness a top priority were more likely to report their employees as productive (80%), engaged (62%), and having high morale (59%).

When it comes to employees’ personal relationships, more time at home has translated into additional closeness with their family and friends. Research from the Miro study finds that employees report improved relationships with their spouse/partner (49%), children under 18 (62%), and friends and extended family (30%). This is important because people’s relationships outside of work play a key role in their overall happiness and well-being—and these, in turn, affect their ability to be focused and productive at work.?

For managers, the best way to help your employees improve their personal relationships is to encourage better work-life balance, which has declined for 23% of employees. Work-life conflict has been shown to decrease marital/family relationship satisfaction, and it also affects work outcomes like job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover. The most important thing you can do is to practice what you preach: if you are encouraging employees to adopt “quiet hours” or avoid working/emailing on weekends, make sure you’re also demonstrating these behaviors.

A hybrid model may offer the best of both worlds

While personal and professional relationships have improved for many workers during COVID-19, for some these relationships have stayed the same or declined. And there are other tradeoffs to remote work: 35% of employees are working 40+ more hours each month, 68% are working on the weekends, 25% are burned out, and 56% miss the feeling of engagement from in-person meetings.?

A hybrid model may be the way forward, allowing employees to combine remote work with in-person work at an HQ, satellite office, or other locations like a co-working space or cafe. This approach lets employees enjoy the benefits of remote work while offering opportunities for in-person interactions that can help maintain or bolster relationships. The majority of employees and companies are already on-board: 74% of workers want to work remotely at least two days a week after the pandemic, and 83% of employers say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company.

But what will the future of in-person work look like? Nearly 9 out 10 workers (87% ) say the office is important for collaborating with team members and building relationships—their top-rated needs for the office. Within the new hybrid model, companies are redesigning their workspaces around connection and interaction rather than independent work. For example, 48% of business leaders plan to invest in communal space in the office, among other hybrid strategies.

Business leaders must carry the momentum forward into the “new normal”

For many employees, the shift to remote work during the pandemic has improved their personal and professional relationships, especially with those whom they are closest. These relationships are important not only for employee well-being but also for organizational success.?

As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s clear that most companies will allow employees to continue working remotely at least part of the time. However, even within this hybrid model, it will be critical that business leaders take steps to ensure that their partially remote workers are engaged and connected—by continuing to communicate more often, supporting employees’ work-life balance, and encouraging a sense of community among their teams.

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