Pandemic accelerates changes to work culture

[Klaralven]

The work-from-home reality that COVID-19 has imposed on many workers around the country could have lasting effects on offices, cities and large swaths of the economy even after the pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

Across various industries, the coronavirus has forced many companies to set up remote work systems for as many employees as possible, mostly among white-collar workers.

While few experts expect those changes to become permanent across the board, business leaders and academics say even relatively small shifts could have lasting implications for life in a post-pandemic economy.

“So much work done in person creates cities and densely populated areas,” said Wendy Edelberg, director of The Hamilton Project and senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

“The more work that can be done remotely, the more we might see some emptying out of those cities.”

Edelberg says the changes in store are less likely to be a sudden shift in the direction of the economy, but rather a massive acceleration of trends that were already bubbling up.

“These were probably changes that were going to come regardless, but they’re going to come faster, and it’s exactly the speed of change that is disruptive and hard for a labor market to absorb,” she said.

For example, according to research by McKinsey & Company, 25 percent of the labor force was working from home a few years ago. Now, it’s 62 percent.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/517668-pandemic-accelerates-changes-to-work-culture

[lapfog_1]

1. its permanent for my company

at least for now...

I haven't been to the office except for a few times in January.

They have extended the work from home mandate until May 2021.

And have said that it is optional for those workers that want it past then.

Saves me a huge amount of commute time... and cost... and they can get me a "visitor cube" should I occasionally show up, thus saving them a fortune in floor space and support.

The downside is that I will miss the subsidized hot lunches... and some efficiency in just running into a colleague in a hallway. Otoh, slack is even easier than wandering around a large office complex for talking to people about random things.

I'm planning on moving to the mountains of AZ or NM instead of the Bay Area... and I've learned to cook really good and healthy food for myself.

[Klaralven]

2. For those that I know still going in to work, they are brown bagging from home

Company cafeterias have closed, and grabbing a fast food breakfast on the way to work is out.

They are mostly losing weight, rather than gaining. Especially the one that stopped going to breakfast joints.

[Kahuna]

3. It's permanent for my company also. Last month..

our CEO announced the permanent closure of most of our office space both domestically and internationally. Most were already successfully working from home. In my group alone, we're spaced out across the country. So it never made sense for us to work in an office.