As Two-Thirds of Americans Work From Home, Pluses and Minuses Emerge

A new survey reveals that 66% of American employees are now doing their jobs from home at least part of the workweek due to the coronavirus pandemic. The finding is further proof of how the outbreak has totally changed our lifestyles in many ways.

Some 365 workers nationally were surveyed by the ratings and review firm Clutch to get a sense of their working-from-home habits and what they like and dislike about the remote work. The bottom line is more people than ever before are working from home, prompting companies to make new adjustments.

Among the top findings were 44% of Americans are now working from home five or more days a week, up from 17% before the pandemic. Not having a commute (47%), a more flexible schedule (43%), and not having to dress up (33%) are the three biggest perks.

However, difficulty collaborating with co-workers (33%), frequent interruptions (27%), and problems sticking to a routine (26%) are the three biggest challenges of remote work. Also of note, 22% of respondents say find it difficult to stop working at the end of the day.

Overall, about 39% prefer working in an office, versus 40% working remotely.

Kristen Herhold, a senior content writer and marketer at Clutch, says what her surprised her the most about the survey was that just 10% of respondents say they struggle with a poor Wi-Fi connection working from home. “I thought it would be much higher,” she explained, “especially since office Wi-Fi tends to be much stronger than home Wi-Fi.”

Another interesting finding is the obstacles working from home creates when it comes to interacting with co-workers. At the office people can visit colleagues at their desk and get answers quickly. Now, workers must wait until colleagues open their email or see their message.

Herhold’s advice to people who say it’s difficult to collaborate with co-workers while working remotely is to take advantage of the many collaboration tools available, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Slack.

“These help employees communicate more seamlessly and get some face-to-face interaction in real-time, rather than waiting for a response to an email or phone call,” she says.

Another dynamic American workers may have to accept is working from home perhaps will continue for a while. Experts predict that social distancing will last many more weeks or even months.

Clutch suggests that businesses talk with their employees about their successes and struggles with remote working to help make their daily work as productive as possible.