Yep, it’s national work from home day.
June 30th is National Work From Home Day, and considering the sudden shift to working from home upon the pandemic onset in 2020, we’re now questioning whether or not it’s a preferred lifestyle.
Pre-pandemic, only 3.6% of American employees worked from home. Amidst the first few months of the pandemic, however, more than half of American employees shifted to making their home their workplace for 20 or more hours per week (Global Workplace Analytics).
Today, we get to observe the varying preferences amongst the workforce. Do some detest the thought of working from home, or is it a preferred way of living?
Let’s look at some statistics.
According to an Owl Labs survey:
- Post-pandemic, 92% of people surveyed expect to integrate working from home at least one day per week.
- 80% expected to work from home at least three days out of the week.
- 50% of people surveyed indicated that they’d likely choose an employer who offered remote work as opposed to employers who do not.
An HR workplace benefits consulting firm, called Mercer, surveyed 800 employers and found that 94% of those employers noted work-from-home productivity either stayed the same or increased since the uprise of work-from-home lifestyle (SHRM).
So it looks like people, for the majority, savor the schedule they maintain for themselves in working from home. In fact; they seem to prefer it. But are they productive?
Is it better this way?
Remote workers encounter less distractions of a shared office environment, no commute, and also are granted freedom to maintain their personal life more than they normally would.
When people have the ability to spend time with their family, get their body moving, and pursue an overall higher quality of life, they can balance their work-life dynamic. Job satisfaction has more to do with than just the job itself; it’s got a lot to do with how much this job allows you to be a human being, which includes maintaining productivity at work alongside at home. How can you produce high-quality work if you don’t take care of the vessel that actually does the work (that’s you, by the way)?
Don’t take it from us, take it from yet another survey report by Owl Labs, which suggests that remote workers reported being 22% happier than workers who stayed strictly in an onsite work environment.
It’s clear to us that having the option of remote work is increasingly popular amongst employees and is a key in employee retention. A hybrid working model is also a viable option.
But what if you’re having trouble balancing your work-life balance? Here are two solid tips for maintaining a good balance between your home life and working-from-home life:
Take a break.
This can mean several different things, and quite honestly, I’ll suggest taking what resonates with you and works best for your schedule.
Go outside, get some fresh air, take a few minutes to draw, to breathe, to stretch, to finally clean that weird corner in your bedroom that collects clothing.
A lot of the time, when we persistently push, push, and push our work out striving for maximum productivity, it drives our mind into a cloud of absent-mindedness. By taking a break, we can reset this cloud and drive it out instead of letting it collect. Come back to work with a fresh mind!
Get a schedule going.
Set times that you will do your work, and times that you will take a break to do whatever you need to do.
It’s good to solidify those so that you can set boundaries with people who might ask you to share your time with them. It’ll also help you with keeping yourself and your work in check.
Hopefully, your understanding of the new normal has expanded and better solidified. Working from home isn’t nearly as intimidating as it may be made out to be after all.
