Remote Working VS Return To Office

So we all got used to working from home by now… or have we?!

In this article, I wanted to show, compare and analyse the results of my polls from 2020 and 2023 about my LinkedIn network users' preference for working remotely versus, working from an office. Let me know your thoughts - have you experienced similar trends? Or do you have a completely different view?

The #COVID19 pandemic has led to a significant shift in how people work, with many companies and employees turning to #RemoteWork. The idea that for many (if not the majority) was fiction before the pandemic, even in the IT industry, as companies wanted their employees to be all based in their offices. Apart from overcoming the technical limitations of sending everyone home to work daily, companies had to make a shift in their mindset, finally realising that "things can also be done" from the comfort of people's homes - a very simplified statement, I know.

Before digging into the results of the poll, here are some good and bad of what remote working has brought us, it might just be aligned with your experience:

Benefits - I think we can all relate at least to the first three ??

1. Increased Flexibility: Remote workers can often set their own schedules and work from anywhere with an internet connection, providing more freedom and flexibility.
2. Improved Work-Life Balance: Without the commute and other demands of a traditional office environment, remote workers have more time to focus on family, friends, and personal pursuits.
3. Reduced Costs: Commuting and work-related expenses such as gas, parking, and work clothes can add up. Remote work eliminates these costs, saving employees money.
4. Increased Productivity: Some employees find that they are more productive when working from home, as there are fewer distractions and interruptions.

Downsides - as the grass is not always greener… there are a lot of challenges we are facing while working from home. These are just some of them:

1. Isolation and Loneliness: Remote work can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, as workers miss the social interaction and camaraderie of a traditional office environment.
2. Difficulty separating work and personal life: Without a clear physical separation between work and home, it can be challenging for remote workers to switch off and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
3. Technical Issues: Technical problems such as slow internet, poor video conferencing quality, or equipment failures can disrupt the remote work experience.
4. Lack of Clear Communication and Collaboration: Communication and collaboration can be more challenging in a remote work environment, leading to misunderstandings and decreased teamwork.

Overall, remote work has both, advantages and disadvantages, and it's up to individuals and companies to determine if it's the right fit for them. Let’s dig into the polls!

2020 and how it all started

I don't know about you, but I remember exactly when it happened, I was on a snowboarding trip in Austria, having the time of my life ??, when on the 15th of March we received information that as of the 16th, Polish borders would be closed, and I might not be able to return home. That was the beginning of the lockdown in Poland and the beginning of remote working for many.?

After a few months of sitting at home getting used to the new reality, I've decided to ask you, my dear network, about your preferences for working from home. I've received over 430 votes which were enough to gather some conclusions and share them with you. What back then wasn't surprising to me was the number of people keen to work from an office full time (only 4%). The possibility of working remotely was one of the most desired benefits by the majority, which only a few had at their disposal. With 30% of people determined to work entirely remotely (those tired of daily commuting, probably), the majority were looking for some sort of hybrid solution - with 27% ok with 1-2 days and 39% (our winner) with 3-4 days working from home.

Digging deeper into the results it was quite interesting to see the trends based on sectors or roles people held.

There are a couple of points worth mentioning when analysing the data. First, despite the desire to work remotely, HR & Recruitment sector predominantly wanted to work 1-2 days from home with nearly 50% of the votes. Which sort of made sense, as we were used to a very collaborative and face-to-face approach to our roles. Second, Senior Management & Leadership votes were spread fairly evenly, with a surprising 11% keen to stay in an office full-time. With the rest of the votes, around 30%, on the other options. As a side note and result to be expected, IT & Engineering mainly wanted to work remotely, with nearly 80% keen to work between 3-5 days from the comfort of their homes.

2023 and how we've made our minds on remote working

Moving forward 3 years and we're done with the lockdown. Are we done with the possibility of working remotely, though??

We are seeing more and more companies, even in the IT sector, going back to an entirely stationary working model, sometimes even forcing their employees to work from their offices. I think I speak for the vast majority when I say that people don't like to be forced to do anything, especially if they got used to something that works so well for them. Surely there are those cases with an obvious business need to work from an office. I support such an approach if expectations have been set from the very beginning.?

I've decided to repeat my poll from 2020 to see how things have or haven't changed. I would be also interested to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Looking at the data, we can see straight away that, as stated at the very beginning, we got used to remote working and there's no turning back. I've received over 400 votes again, which means that well over 200 of you (52%) would like to work remotely full-time (5 days a week). This means that the benefits I've mentioned previously outweigh the downsides. We like to have that flexibility and ability to do our jobs while being able to look after our pets or simply not spending hours commuting every day. Nevertheless, I was surprised by these results (I voted for 1-2 days), as I truly miss working from an office where I can meet and talk to people in person, socialise and build relationships - I even wrote an article about it, have a read in your spare time ??.

Back to the data, I completely agree with the result, that only 4% of you are keen to return to full-time office work, as I can't imagine such a scenario myself. On a similar note, we have a very low interest in a hybrid model of 1-2 days working from home, showing a popular tendency of leaning towards full-time remote working.?

As with data from 2020, I looked into different sectors or roles people held to better understand those trends. We can see that, excluding Senior Management & Leadership, people across different sectors are favouring the full-time remote working model with around 55% of votes for 5 days and, between 28%-35% for 3-4 days. Interesting analytics are in fact, the ones I excluded from the previous statement; Senior Management & Leadership are more likely to work from an office more than 2-3 days per week. We can even see that 11% are keen to work 100% from their offices which begs the question, why? On one hand, it's probably due to the nature of their roles, being present at their offices to meet with their teams and participate in activities that could mainly be done offline. On the other hand, it could be more related to motivation and leading by example - what do you think? (a third option is simple, working from an office can give you the peace and focus you need to do your job well)

Summary and what the future holds

My initial assumptions were completely wrong! When publishing the poll a few weeks ago, I was sure that the scale would be more balanced. I thought that after 3 years, some people would be fed up with remote working and would miss interacting with their colleagues in an office environment (in 4D ??). As the below chart comparing 2020 to 2023 shows, we have all gotten used to the comfort of working from our homes - to that flexibility, freedom and comfy dress code.

The future is bright for advocates of full-time #RemoteWorking, we will not, probably, go back to what it was before the pandemic. The past 3 years have shown how much can be done remotely, moreover, this shift has not impacted the quality of deliverables or strained any deadlines - so why would we go back?

What do you think?