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STUDY: Working from home vs. going back to the office — Which do professionals prefer?

From going to school over Zoom — to turning living rooms into offices and holding virtual holiday get-togethers — the COVID life hasn't been particularly easy.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on all aspects of our everyday lives.

From going to school over Zoom — to turning living rooms into offices and holding virtual holiday get-togethers —  the COVID life hasn't been particularly easy.

However, a new study from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online shows most professional have excelled while working from home.

“The past year has been difficult for everyone, but what’s surprising is how well people feel they’ve performed at work, while at home,” said Harvard Business School Online's Executive Director Patrick Mullane. “Now, as we’re preparing to get back to ‘business as usual,’ it seems professionals don’t want ‘business as usual.’ Instead, they want flexibility from their employers to allow them to maintain the new work/home balance and productivity they have come to enjoy.”

HBS Online partnered with market research firm City Square Associates to survey nearly 1,500 professionals who worked remotely during the COVID-19 shutdown from March 2020 - March 2021. Respondents were asked to compare this past year to the prior one.

While the pandemic brought a lot of stress and heartbreak, the study revealed revealed those who were surveyed experienced professional and personal wins, "along with embracing many healthy—and even some unhealthy—habits."

“Many of us have Zoom fatigue,” said HBS Online’s Managing Director of Product Management Simeen Mohsen. “Yet, despite not being in the office, many professionals still performed well and were even able to grow in their careers. They somehow rose to the occasion and gave it their all, both as individuals and as teams.”

While the survey showed many miss being around co-workers, they enjoyed the flexibility of working from home.

Check out some of the study's additional statistics below: 

Professionals miss their colleagues but want flexibility

  • 81% either don’t want to go back to the office or would prefer a hybrid schedule going forward
  • 27% hope to work remotely full-time
  • 61% would like to work 2-3 days a week from home
  • 18% want to go back to the office full-time
  • Parents with kids at home want to go back full-time more than those without children
  • Married people also want to go back full-time more than singles
  • On the other hand, people from the Northeast are more likely to want to stay remote

Employees' conditions for going back

  • 51% are uncomfortable going back to the office until they’re fully vaccinated
  • 71% are hesitant to go back until everyone is fully vaccinated
  • 54% expect social distancing—everyone is seated at least 6 feet apart and required to wear masks

Other interesting insights include:

  • 98% kept their jobs while working at home
  • 1-in-3 felt both their overall performance and quality of work was better than the year prior
  • 1-in-3 were actually able to better focus on work from home
  • 1-in-2 said their collaboration with co-workers did not change
  • 1-in-2 said support from co-workers did not change
  • 1-in-2 said trust in leadership did not change

The survey also revealed 59% of people polled made health a priority while working from home.

  • 50% read for fun
  • 36% napped more
  • 16% got a pet
  • 70% spent more time with loved ones
  • 50% spent more time with friends, mostly online
  • 10% started a romantic relationship
  • 8% fell in love

Now, the survey wasn't all positive. Some of those polled developed bad habits or experienced heartbreak/hardships during the pandemic.

  • 2% lost their job
  • 34% felt professionally burned out
  • 69% worried about the world
  • 10% got sick with COVID-19
  • 1-in-4 had a loved one who got COVID-19
  • 17% had a loved one die (not of COVID-19) and sometimes were unable to say goodbye
  • 75% binge-watched TV shows or movies more
  • 1-in-3 drank more alcohol
  • 31% took recreational drugs more
  • 1-in-3 gained 10 or more pounds

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