Americans Are Choosing to Work Remotely. NewsWire

NewsWire: 3/7/22

• Fully 61% of Americans who are working from home say that it’s out of choice rather than necessity. Earlier in the pandemic, the opposite was true: Most people worked from home because their office was closed. (Pew Research Center)
  
• NH: Despite falling Covid-19 case numbers and offices reopening, many Americans still work remotely. And recent surveys show this is due to personal preference rather than fear of the virus.
• A new Pew poll found that 59% of Americans who can work from home are still doing so. While that’s an 11 percentage point drop from October 2020, it’s still a significant percentage. Even more telling, 61% of telecommuters reported doing so despite their office being open. In fall 2020, the opposite was true. The majority of people worked from home because their office was closed. 
• Over three-quarters (76%) of telecommuters said they're doing so because they "prefer working from home." A much smaller share (42%) say they're doing so specifically because of Covid-19 concerns. That's down 15 percentage points from fall 2020. (This poll doesn't reflect the views of those who would prefer to work at home but are required to go into the office.)

• New data show that Americans have not returned to the office at the same rate as they have to other indoor recreational venues. Kastle Systems found that occupancy at movie theaters in the first week of February was 58% of pre-pandemic levels, restaurants almost 75%, air travel nearly 80%, and NBA games 93%. In contrast, the average office occupancy rate in 10 major US cities was 37% during the last week in February.

• Nevertheless, it's becoming increasingly clear that businesses are itching to get workers back in person. Microsoft (MSFT) is currently giving employees a month to adopt a hybrid schedule. American Express (AXP) is planning a widespread return on March 15. Meta (FB) is starting a hybrid approach on March 28. And the Washington Post is requiring employees to return within the month.
• These businesses cite the fall in Covid-19 cases as justification for reopening the offices. But IMO, they are missing a critical element. As these data points show, people prefer working from home for reasons unrelated to the pandemic. They have discovered its intrinsic advantages: not commuting saves time and money; parents can more easily care for their children; and you can fold the laundry during a five-minute mental break. These advantages don't magically disappear with falling Covid-19 numbers. (See “Younger Workers Embrace Telecommuting.”)
• While most companies are compromising with hybrid schedules, they need to be careful. If employers keep amping up the pressure to be in person, many workers will start looking for new jobs. Clearly, looking at the low rate of office occupancy in midtown Manhattan for example, many large employers who once vowed to return swiftly to full-time schedules have changed their tune. These white-collar employers see the threat: The Great Resignation could also hit their businesses. (See “The Looming Battle Over Remote Work.”)