New Study Shows 67% of Companies Expect to Work From Home in the Future
23 Jul 2020
A new study from S&P Global Market Intelligence finds that companies plan to keep work from home policies in place.
According to the research study, “close to 80% of organizations surveyed said they have implemented or expanded universal work-from-home policies as a result of COVID-19, while 67% expect these policies to remain in place either permanently or for the long-term.”
Read the full press release of the study here:
Highlights from the survey include:
Firms have implemented several travel and event-related measures that change office life.
In addition to the 80% of organizations that said they have employed expanded or universal work-from-home policies, 85% have implemented travel limitations and the same percentage limited or banned face-to-face meetings. 71% of respondents also said they are converting hosted events into virtual ones and 37% have expanded employee leave rules among other changes.
– Companies are in no rush to head back to workplaces. Although close to 19% of organizations intend to have employees return to offices as soon as local regulations allow, 25% will wait a month or more while another 24% have not yet determined any timeline.
– A reduction in office space is expected. While companies are hesitating to head back to physical office spaces, 47% of respondents say they are likely to reduce its physical office footprint because of the COVID-19 outbreak. More than 20% expect it to reduce by more than 25%.
– Altered working conditions are presumed to be long-term or permanent. About 20% of respondents say their organization is planning to operate under alternate conditions such as remote working, wearing protective gear, and social distancing through 2021 and beyond. 14% responded that conditions have been altered permanently, while 18% have yet to establish a plan.
– Travel will remain scarce, even in Q4 2020. Compared to the last quarter of 2019, a third of organizations (34%) expect work travel to be reduced by 80% or more in the fourth quarter of this year; yet, a large cohort of respondents (21%) say they don’t know how much travel will resume during this period.
– Social distancing serves as a barrier to returning to office life. 79% of organizations agree that social distancing will be the biggest challenge in resuming normal operations.
– Organizations are more likely to be spending more on IT resources with notable increases to security spending. Compared to March, increased information security spending grew more common (from 15% to 28% of businesses) and organizations are spending more on communication and collaboration technologies (50%), employee devices and services (43%), information security tools (42%) and network capacity (38%).
– Many businesses are seeking flexible terms from suppliers. More than half (56%) of organizations agreed they were offering to adjust the terms of leases, licenses or contracts for their customers. Similarly, 42% of organizations said they were expecting or asking IT vendors to adjust pricing, payment terms or payment models.
How will this impact Tampa Bay area companies?
We certainly know that many companies across the Tampa area as well as around Florida have adopted work from home policies. And even before Coronavirus (Covid-19) Florida was one of the top states for remote work opportunities. Will the trend continue once we return to normal?
Small Business Trends Points Out the Benefits of Work From Home
Small Business Trends which reports on news impacting small businesses, says that the work from home trend has its benefits. Per their article 67% of Companies Expect Work From Home to Be Permanent or Long-Lasting, they share this information:
“For small businesses, the benefits are numerous. You get to save money on office space, equipment, supplies, and utilities by allowing employees to work remotely. You can also enjoy improved morale and productivity by giving your team the flexibility to set their own schedule, while still keeping them on task using remote workforce management tools.
Remote work also opens up the talent pool wider than ever for small businesses. Instead of only looking at candidates in your immediate area who have the ability to travel to and from an office each day, you can consider pretty much everyone. That includes single moms who couldn’t otherwise work outside the home, people with disabilities and mobility challenges, those who can’t drive or afford transportation, and people who live outside your geographic area.
Not only does this lead to a more diverse workforce, but it also gives businesses access to more talent than ever.”
Office Movers of Florida is here for you
Even during the Coronavirus pandemic, companies are still hard at work. If you’re considering an office relocation or rearranging your commercial furniture within your existing space, Office Movers of Florida can help. For a free quote, please contact us today at 813-304-2273.
