Work shifts: Hybrid work is the new normal
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Two-thirds of U.S. adults say that office and remote work will continue to coexist well into the future, an Axios-Momentive poll found.
Why it matters: A lasting legacy of the pandemic may be the freedom from the 40-hour (or more) facetime-in-the-office workweek for those whose occupations are traditionally conducted that way.
Driving the news: Yet despite the work-from-home habits that so many former cube dwellers have gotten into, only 13% of poll respondents say “the days of working in an office 5 days a week are officially over.”
- 66% say that hybrid work (some office, some home) will persist.
- 18% predict that most workplaces will go back to how things were before COVID.
The poll by Axios and Momentive — the makers of Survey Monkey — found some interesting differences in these responses by age. (It was conducted March 23-25, 2022, among a national sample of 2,553 adults.)
- More young people express confidence that things will go back to the way they were pre-COVID — 25% of people 18-34, compared with 11% of those over 65.
Yes, but: The demise of the metaphorical water cooler has had some negative effects: 44% of employed adults in the survey said that work-related changes during the past two pandemic years have made them feel less connected.
- 40% say they feel about as connected as before.
- Just 15% say they’re feeling more connected.
Connection matters: 34% of people who feel less connected say they've considered quitting or changing jobs in the last year, compared with 19% who feel “about as connected” and 23% who feel “more connected."
The so-called Great Resignation continues to loom large:
- 17% of employed adults say they’ve quit a job for a different job in the last year.
- 26% say they’ve considered quitting or changing jobs.
- 6% have quit a job without going back to work right away, and another 6% say they were laid off.
Among adults who are not employed:
- 5% say they've quit for a different job;
- 12% quit without going back to work right away;
- 8% were laid off.
What's next: Opinion is split on the future for today's college grads, with 31% saying young adults have more employment options now than before the pandemic.
- 32% say college grads have fewer options.
- 35% say their options are about the same as before.
Methodology: The Axios-Momentive online poll was conducted March 23-25, 2022, among a national sample of 2,553 adults. Respondents were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the Momentive platform each day. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.
