COVID has Permanently Changed Lifestyles

Mon Jan 20 2025
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Key points

  • Hybrid workers are ready to search for new jobs instead of going to office
  • Study shows 46pc of workers will quit if asked to return to full-time office work
  • 50pc of young workers show a higher willingness to change jobs as compared to 35pc of older ones
  • JP Morgan and Amazon faced resistance from workers upon asking for office work

ISLAMABAD: Covid-19 left permanent impact on the way people communicate and interact with each other. It brought a permanent shift to the corporate sector as well.

Employers as well as the workforce favoured remote work instead of going to the office. It continued for years and now the latter is finding it difficult to return to office.

Many hybrid and remote workers in the United States are ready to search for a new job to continue working from home amid companies wanting a full return to office, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center.

According to Forbes, approximately half (46 per cent) of workers said they would consider quitting their jobs rather than coming back to full-time, in-office work provided that their current boss was to end work-from-home options.

According to the study, around 75 per cent of the participants have a flexible work schedule. They either work fully from home or adopt a hybrid model that includes some remote work days.

Women show a little higher inclination (49 per cent) to look for new employment compared to men (43 per cent), in the debate over return-to-office policies.

Younger workers—under 50—show a higher willingness to change jobs (50 per cent) in case remote work is ended than their older counterparts (35 per cent).

Stubborn remote workers

Fully remote workers, on the other hand, are more stubborn about maintaining their work-from-home schedule (61 per cent) in comparison to those with hybrid (47 per cent) or occasional remote work arrangements (28 per cent).

Employees who are not satisfied with their jobs are more prone to considering job transformations if remote work options are eliminated.

In spite of workers’ strong liking for remote work, finding a new job with remote working options may prove difficult. A recent Resume Builder survey shows a stark workplace trend: 87 per cent of companies are expected to ask for full office returns by 2025.

Employees are opposing corporate policies demanding in-person work. JPMorgan’s recent mandate for a full-time return to office, set to begin in March 2025, has sparked substantial employee criticism.

Workforce backlash

The news was met with a lot of negative comments on the company’s internal communication platform. It prompted the bank to block the comment section within hours due to high traffic, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Employees showed concerns about surged commuting costs, childcare difficulties, and disruptions to work-life balance.

In the same manner, Amazon has faced opposition from its employees. In 2024, over 500 Amazon Web Services workers formally challenged the company’s return-to-office policy by sending a letter to CEO Matt Garman.

The employees specifically described the explanation for the return-to-office directive as “non-data-driven.”

Their letter included personal narratives highlighting substantial challenges, like extensive transport times and family commitments that would be disrupted by the mandatory in-office work requirement.

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