"I don't want to go back to the office because..."

Yes, we're all scared of the Delta variant, but the more visceral reasons that people want to keep working from home are striking, a poll found:

• 75% want to hang out with their pets.
• 73% want to watch TV while they work.
• 72% want to nap or exercise during the day.
• 62% are self-conscious about how they look.

Why it matters: The longer we stay out of the office, the more these personal priorities become ingrained — making return-to-the-office even more of a distant (and distasteful) possibility.

Details: The results come from a Pollfish survey of 1,000 people conducted in July for Digital.com (a procurement website for small businesses).

• "Participants had to pass through two screening questions to ensure they started working remotely during the pandemic and wished to stay working remotely," per Digital.com.
• When asked why they wanted to continue to WFH, most people gave predictable answers as their top reason — child care or commuting issues, as listed in the chart above.
• But most respondents listed other lifestyle factors as part of their consideration.

What they're saying: "The real reason I want to work from home is because I get ownership of my day: I don’t have to dress up for work, worry about my appearance or smile and make small talk when I feel like trash," said Naida Allen, a content writer at Tutor House, according to Digital.com.

• “There’s no one breathing down my neck, watching my every move and analyzing whether I’m 'working hard enough.'"

The bottom line: 14% of survey respondents said that "working remotely was so important to them they would not go back to work in-person even if their employers required it, instead giving up their positions to presumably find other remote opportunities."