As businesses, governments, and cities are all in different phases of reopening, they are all in a constant state of evaluating what’s safe, what’s not and what the future will look like.
The Covid-19 pandemic has ushered in remote work on an unprecedented scale, even though it may not be indicative of what post-pandemic workplaces might look like. Will this sudden transition shape a new world of work?
“To gain a pulse on how workers view the prospect of remote working or returning to offices whilst navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, we conducted a global survey of over 3 500 respondents,” says Robin Fisher, senior area vice-president of Salesforce Emerging Markets.
An earlier survey released in May found a majority of the workforce working remotely – mostly for the first time – and high interest in extending such arrangements long term.
The recent data indicates that while workers are questioning whether a daily commute to a central location is necessary, they are also not wanting to abandon their traditional workplaces completely.
Thirty-seven percent of survey respondents view full-time remote work as the most appealing long-term scenario In contrast, 64% want to spend at least some of their working hours at an office, store, factory, or other type of workplace.
Gen Z, which will soon become the largest segment of the workforce, is particularly interested in a “hybrid” approach in which time is split between home and the workplace.
Just 32% of workers expect their employers to reduce or eliminate their real estate footprints.
Given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and lack of standardised guidelines, many businesses are struggling with the question of how to reopen as they implement strategies for bringing workers back.
Workers are well aware of the lack of strategy, with 45% of respondents indicating their employer was ready to bring staff back to the workplace, and 43% saying they had been given clear communication about a reopening plan.
Businesses of all types face complex, multi-faceted reopenings. The survey found commonalities and differences between what can make office, factory, and retail workers feel safe. Enhanced cleaning and reduced capacity are pillars of any reopening strategy, according to respondents.
Office workers put particular emphasis on contact tracing, whereas factory and retail workers are partial to daily wellness checks. 52% of workers said they’re comfortable sharing personal information like health data and contacts to keep the workplace safe with millennials being the most willing (59%) whereas baby boomers are the least (40%).
All workers face challenges from the risk of being exposed to sick co-workers and how productive they will be in a radically different environment. However, low income and younger workers are more likely to have personal circumstances such as childcare or eldercare that complicate their path forward.
Seventy percent of Gen Z workers and 68% of millennial workers are at least moderately concerned about their family or personal circumstances when returning to work, compared to 35% of baby boomers.
Compounding their fears, low income workers are also less likely to say they have the space to work from home long term (42%) than high income workers (59%).
After hard-fought campaigns to reduce congestion and emissions by incentivising mass transit, metropolitan areas face a future in which plummeting ridership could struggle to recover. Salesforce Research’s survey suggests that the share of commuters using mass transit commutes will fall 29% – from 24% of commuters to 17% – when they return to their workplaces.
Despite predictions of a looming “carpocalypse” descending on cities as virus-wary commuters isolate in their own cars, survey respondents say they’re planning to utilise a variety of transportation methods. The share of single car commuters is expected to tick up from 60% to 61% – hardly accounting for the predicted decline in transit ridership. Commuters also have plans to increase their use of carpools or rideshares, scooters and motorcycles, and walking.
With residents and workers spending more time at home, businesses shuttered or limited in operations, and expenses related to Covid-19 soaring, there’s no denying that cities face tough times ahead. But the urban areas that have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years are still viewed by many as desirable places to live and work.
Seventy percent of respondents who work in a city say they still prefer an urban work environment over those in suburban areas, and 74% that live in cities still cite them as their preferred place of residence. This sentiment is especially true among the millennial and Gen Z talent that companies are eager to attract.
Just 40% of city dwellers say city living has lost its appeal, but there’s a limit to their loyalty: 54% of them say it’s not worth living in a city if amenities like bars and restaurants aren’t available.
Among those who work in a city, 49% say working in a city isn’t worthwhile without amenities. With 51% of the workforce citing the increased proximity between their homes and workplaces, new distributions of workers across metropolitan areas may develop.