- Informal poll on professional network Blind gauges how likely employees are to quit if their employer does not provide work from home option after the COVID-19 pandemic
- More than one in three say they would look for another job, while more than one in 10 have already negotiated permanent remote work arrangements
- Comments accompanying the poll often criticize office policies as inefficient
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
As COVID-19 vaccinations proceed, employers are increasingly looking to bring workers back to the office. However, employees are often eager to keep working from home at least some of the time, and are willing to quit if their employer does not allow it.
In an informal poll of 3,050 employees of larger companies on the anonymous professional network Blind, 35 percent said they would quit if work from home was not available after the pandemic. Fifty-four percent were not willing to give up their job over remote work, while 11 percent said they had already negotiated with their employer to continue working from home permanently.
Advocates for remote work say it creates a more casual and enjoyable environment, greater understanding among employees, and a reduction in office politics while also cutting personal expenses related to commutes and wardrobes. However, a significant number of employees also want to escape the house and come into the office at least some days of the week, leading to greater calls for hybrid work models.
The Blind poll also included user comments, highlighting some disconnects between employees and their managers. The comments were often criticized office policies as inefficient.
Other polls have also noted an increasing willingness among workers to change jobs in the wake of the pandemic, potentially creating worker retention challenges for employers. One recent survey found that more than half of employees were planning to look for a new job this year, and a Prudential poll found that one-third of millennials expect to quit their jobs after the pandemic.
