54% of adults want to work remotely most of the time after the pandemic, according to a new study from IBM

  • The coronavirus pandemic has forced millions of workers out of office spaces and into their homes, but 54% of workers polled in a new survey say they would prefer to continue working remotely full time.
  • IBM conducted a survey among 25,000 people to gauge how perspectives about work, transportation, and leisure changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
  • Working from home could make workers happier and save employees and employers money.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The coronavirus pandemic has created global shifts in the way people work, shop, and socialize. While not every change created during the quarantined lifestyle of the pandemic will stick, many employees hope that working from home will.

A survey conducted by IBM found that 54% of employees would prefer to primarily work remotely.

Millions of workers have transitioned their job operations to work remotely in the wake of the coronavirus, and as these workers settle into their home-based routines, many are finding they want to continue working from home after the pandemic, as it lends itself to flexibility and productivity.

IBM polled more than 25,000 US adults during April to figure out how COVID-19 has altered their perspectives on a range of topics including working from home.

Of those surveyed, 75% said they would like to continue to work from home in at least a partial capacity, while 40% of respondents said they feel strongly that their employer should give employees the choice to opt-in to remote work.

Working from home is not only popular but other studies have shown that those who work from home full-time reported being happy in their job 22% more than their counterparts who spent no time working from home.

Working remotely is also an attractive option because it can help employees save on housing. When workers don’t have to report to an office, they have more flexibility to work from home in more rural or suburban settings.

But the shift to remote work might not only benefit employees but employers as well. Instead of leasing huge offices at high-dollar prices, employers could save money by renting smaller spaces — especially since experts predict offices will transition from a place where workers go to every day, to more of a central meeting spot for important meetings and collaborative work.

Some companies have already decided to make permanent shifts to working remotely or partially remote, such as Nationwide Insurance.

The change in working preferences goes hand in hand with IBM’s other finding, which found that people are more likely to use their own vehicles for transportation and intend to rely on less public transportation, rideshares, and taxi services.

Nearly 20% of respondents who regularly used public transportation such as trains, buses, or subways said they no longer would, and another 28% said they will likely use public transportation less often.

Rideshare and taxi services saw a similar drop, while 17% of people responded that they plan to use their own vehicle more and 1 in 4 people said they would use their personal vehicle as their exclusive mode of transportation moving forward as a result of COVID-19.

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