Employees are finding that working in the office isn’t such a bad thing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic as employees started returning to work, a number of surveys revealed that employees enjoyed the work-from-home experience, and many companies even encouraged and eventually changed their work policies to allow for 100 percent work-from-home conditions.
But a Return to the Workplace report released by Envoy, a workplace transformation company that helps companies adapt to the hybrid style workplace, shows that employees are enjoying office life more than expected. A survey conducted in May revealed that 90 percent of workers indicated that being back in the office is better than they expected, and 42 percent say that the experience exceeded expectations.
Envoy surveyed 1,000 U.S. office workers who have returned to the workplace, defining “returned” as those working in the office at least one full day per week and returned in the last 12 months.
One of the primary reasons that employees enjoy returning to the office is the opportunity to meet again with work friends, collaborate on jobs or just get out of the house. The return to the office also resulted in a shift in how some conduct their business during the workday.
36% of employees reserve priority meetings and collaborative work for days onsite
31% are taking more breaks at the office and 29% are running personal errands during the workday
Younger workers are more inclined to take mental health days than their older counterparts
COVID lockdowns seemed to inspire more engagement among coworkers, as 34% indicated they are hanging out with more coworkers in the office, 27% are making efforts to meet new people, and 24% are attending more happy hours or post-work events.
Dave Lubach is managing editor, Facility Market.
