The past few weeks have been a time of extreme disruption and tension caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but there has been a sliver of good news – people around the world have been quick to notice the environmental benefits of people remaining in their homes.
In just a short amount of time, the air quality has drastically improved in major cities around the globe, and overall pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have fallen. While it may feel like we’ve all been social distancing for years, it’s actually only been several weeks – and the environment is already reaping the benefits.
While much has been publicized about the air quality improvements – and with Earth Day in just a few days – we wanted to examine this trend from the perspective of the employee. Although it’s true that what we have been experiencing is totally out of the norm, consider this: When social distancing guidelines are lifted, will employees really want to go back to full-time office work? And if not, does the environment factor into their decisions?
GoTo and LogMeIn, in partnership with our friends at OnePoll, commissioned a survey of over 2200 global workers to examine how employees feel about the role of remote work and its environmental impact, as well as the personal benefits it provides.. We found that the vast majority of employees (84%) do indeed care about the environment. Furthermore, 68% worry about the impact certain activities (like their commute) have on pollution. By allowing traditional in-office workers to either cut down or eliminate their commutes and plan their day with a more flexible schedule, remote work is helping employees feel better about their environmental choices, while simultaneously helping to reduce stress and save money. We believe that a flexible work schedule is a way to achieve a happier, healthier you AND the planet! More on some of these interesting findings can be found below:
- Reducing pollution was listed as a top benefit of working from home by a majority of respondents (61%), even over lower commute stress (51%)
- Respondents also agree (somewhat or strongly) working from home has a positive impact on productivity (64%)
- 30% have quit their job over a stressful commute, and 59% agree (somewhat or strongly) their commute affects how they feel about their job. 50% also say that that they worry about making it to the office on-time during their commute
- Nearly two thirds say they agree (somewhat or strongly) that WFH has a positive impact on their productivity
- 78% agree (somewhat or strongly) that WFH allows them to save money
- 45% say that working from home would make them happier
- 46% say working from home allows them to better de-stress between calls
- 57% say working from home provides them with a more flexible schedule
- More than half say that a perk of working from home is they can wear whatever they want
- 75% feel very or somewhat prepared to work from home if they have to – possibly showing widescale adoption of videoconferencing and remote work technologies in recent years has better prepared companies and employees
- 62% of Americans would take a pay cut to work from home (US only)
LogMeIn believes sustainability is an urgent issue we must all solve, and we are committed to operating our business with integrity and reducing our footprint as we unlock the potential of the modern workforce. Read more here.
*this survey was conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with GoTo by LogMeIn from 3/13/20-4/1/20