I’m able to work from home right now, and I’m so thankful for that. But I’m also looking forward to a time when I can safely return to the office – for a few days a week at least. I miss being around my coworkers. This pandemic has made me realize how much I crave social interaction!

But I know there are plenty of people who don’t want to return to the office. They are perfectly happy to stay right where they are, for a variety of reasons.

One of the biggest reasons, of course, is that a lot of people are scared. They’re afraid to leave the relative safety of their homes and start spending their time in office buildings with other people.

But that’s not the only reason. According to authors Maria Cramer and Mihir Zaveri, there are growing numbers of people who are discovering that they really like working from home. Now that they’ve had the opportunity to try it, they’re not eager to go back to working on-site.

Indeed, according to a recent Gallup poll, the majority of Americans who are currently working from home would like to continue doing so, even after the pandemic has ended. They’re enjoying the perks that go along with working at their kitchen tables. Here are just a few:

  • No commute – One of the biggest perks is that there’s no commute. That saves people time and money, and may even be beneficial to the environment.
  • Greater productivity – A lot of people find that they’re more productive at home. For those who work in a busy office environment, there are fewer interruptions and distractions.
  • Less illness – I’m not just talking about COVID-19. When people work from home, they’re less likely to catch all types of illnesses, including the common cold.
  • Higher levels of job satisfaction – Research has shown that employees tend to feel more satisfied with their jobs and engaged with their work when they’re able to work from home.
  • More activity – When people work from home, they tend to multitask. They jump up to put in a load of laundry. They run up the stairs to retrieve something. They’re simply more likely to stand up and move around than they are when they’re sitting at their desk in the office. And that increased level of activity is beneficial both mentally and physically.

Overall, there are a lot of great things about working from home. So it’s likely that after this pandemic is over, it might be hard for some employees to transition back into normal office life. Now that we’ve all experienced what it’s like to work from home, it may be difficult for some people to give it up!

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Cramer, M. & Zaveri, M. (2020, May 5). What if you don’t want to go back to the office? The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/business/pandemic-work-from-home-coronavirus.html