PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Working from home has become routine for so many Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. But some studies are showing that life was already trending that way.
“There’s plenty of pre-pandemic data that points to the fact that one of the highest factors contributing to employee satisfaction and productivity is this autonomy, this flexibility. In some studies, that ranked even higher than salary,” said Jennifer Rossi Long, senior director of West Chester University’s Twardowski Career Development Center.
Long said coronavirus accelerated an already trending model for more freedom inside the work day, especially when it comes to the millennial generation. She said millennials want control over their day and they were afforded that in the workplace because of the pandemic.
“When you look at satisfaction and productivity levels, millennials are rising in both of those areas, but we’re also seeing positive impacts on (Generation X) and the baby boomers, just not to the extent that we’re seeing it with millennials.”
Over the next few years, Long said they’ll be looking over many different models and studies.
“I don't know that we can fully understand the impact or the possibility until we get further into it, particularly post-pandemic where you could go back to what you considered normal, but should you go back to what you considered normal?” she asked.
Long said employers will benefit too if working from home continues to be accepted and feasible. Companies can seek talent from anywhere now, so the economic effects reach far above individuals.
“I feel like we were in some ways on this path, right, we’ve been talking about flexible work and working from home for a very long time now. We were accelerated out of necessity, perhaps that had to happen. It's just unfortunate the way it had to happen. But I also think technology accelerated us in that case as well,” she said.