Even after the entire world has almost completely returned to ‘normal’ and life before COVID, some aspects of the ‘new normal’ seem to have taken root and continue to be popular. While numerous companies have started bringing their employees back to the offices, a new study has shown that remote work is more popular than ever.
They want them at the workplace
After two years of the pandemic, many companies have relaxed rules regarding vaccinations, testing, and masks, and have permanently opened their offices. Wall Street firms have begun insisting on a return to the office. Thus, Goldman Sachs Group and Jefferies Financial Group, American financial giants, have recently demanded that their workers return to work in the office.
Among those who want to see employees at their workplaces is Elon Musk. As early as the beginning of summer, foreign media reported that Musk ordered Tesla employees to return to the office full-time or resign. Musk reportedly believes that remote work threatens economic output, reduces the American standard of living, leads to the decline of cities, and results in a lack of education for young people.
A big 'no' to returning to the office
However, despite Musk’s or anyone else’s ideas and demands, the problem is that employees simply do not want to return, and this applies to all countries and industries. Such findings are shown by a study published last week by an international team of economists, based on data collected since the very beginning of the pandemic.
According to it, people are simply inclined to work from home because they save time otherwise spent on commuting and feel more productive. The extent to which they enjoy remote work is also indicated by the fact that some are willing to seek new jobs to avoid returning to the office. This research was conducted in 27 countries among employees with higher incomes, and experts in the study state that remote work benefits workers because most of them appreciate the opportunity to work from home part of the week, Bloomberg reports.
