Report: 70% of workers want to keep their telecommuting option in the age of the pandemic

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A new study from Deloitte, "2022 Connectivity and Mobile Trends", shows that "the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled American households into an unprecedented societal beta test that has accelerated emerging trends in technology and connectivity". Almost overnight, adult workers and adult and child learners have had to negotiate the transition of work and school from fully in-person to fully remote.

And while the previous year's study showed there were many bumps and hiccups along the way, mostly due to the attempt to stretch physical space and digital bandwidth to meeting the needs of multiple household members, this year's research shows that "consumers are more in control of their digital lives, optimizing the devices they use and fine-tuning the balance between their virtual and physical worlds." p> Remote workers like WFH

Nearly all workers (99%) who worked from home (WFH) said they "enjoyed some aspect of the experience". The top three benefits they named were lack of travel, feeling more comfortable at home, and reduced risk of contracting COVID-19. The top three challenges were having family or household responsibilities during work hours, feeling stressed or exhausted, and having slow or unstable internet service.

Image credit: Deloitte.

However, the study noted that compared to the 2021 study, these issues had decreased due to workers getting used to working from home, there was fewer family members at home in 2022, so there were fewer devices competing for internet bandwidth, and networks and devices are increasingly optimized for telecommuting as the pandemic continues .

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From a mental health and relationship perspective, most remote workers found working from home to be a successful experience. At least half of those who have worked remotely in the past year said "their family relationships, physical well-being and emotional well-being have improved as a result of the experience." From a professional perspective, although they did not report improved working relationships with co-workers, less than 20% reported a negative effect on working relationships.

Going forward, 75% of remote workers and 50% of all employed adults would prefer virtual or hybrid work options once the pandemic subsides. Of the ...