[GTO]

I have announced permanent work-from-home for all my team members , even post-lockdown and post-Covid restrictions.

Sharing this interesting release from Kantar:

More than half of commuters around the world plan to continue working remotely, at least in part, after the pandemic. This, together with a growing preference for healthier modes of transport, but also a resurgence in commuting by car, means the next year will be pivotal in shaping the transport infrastructure and the future of mobility. New research from Kantar’s Mobility Futures study, based on deep analysis conducted across almost 10,000 city dwellers ahead of June’s Movin’ On World Summit on Sustainable Mobility brings to light the major global mobility trends for the upcoming decade.

- The pandemic resulted in a 30% drop in travel volume to work, places of education and leisure activities.

- 50% of commuters anticipate continuing to at least in part work remotely post-pandemic

- Public transport has experienced a 5.6% loss of share as hygiene concerns became a factor

- Car usage has experienced a 3.8% increase in share of journeys during the pandemic and looks set to stick as preference for post-pandemic travel.

A 5% shift in share of journeys across Western Europe to healthy modes of transport, walking, cycling and scooting, during the pandemic, with an increase in those saying it will be their preferred mode of transport.

In the newest research, conducted as the world starts to think about life after the pandemic, city planners and transport infrastructure professionals adapt to the new travel patterns. Kantar predicts that remote working will play a significant part in the ‘New Normal’ after pandemic restrictions lift. Currently, around 2 in 3 residents of major urban areas are working from home globally and the study shows that on average half plan to keep working remotely in the future.

Healthier modes of transport have seen a noticeable increase in this period especially in Europe. With limited transport sharing options, Europeans have favoured walks and bike rides for their daily journeys. Kantar has observed a 4.8% rise in the use of healthy modes of transport in Europe, with walking being the most preferred of these means and scoring a 78 out of 100 on the satisfaction chart. US cities however have seen only a slight increase in use of healthy transport means (0.6% YoY), mainly due to large distances and car-centric infrastructures.

The pandemic has created an increased focus on localism and shorter trips. This trend could positively impact the ’15-minute city’ concept moving away from being car-centric and offering all the amenities for people’s essential and daily needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. Kantar data supports this by revealing that walking and biking are currently the highest scoring means of transport in terms of satisfaction.

Despite the health-kick, there has also been an increase in car usage. Social distancing measures and health concerns led to more people choosing to drive alone during the pandemic to reduce exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Driving remains one of the preferred ways to travel, despite the negative environmental impact of petrol-powered cars, with usage growing +3.6% YoY and preference +1.9% YoY – making driving the second most popular mode of transport after walking.

In contrast, public transport has taken a serious hit during the pandemic, dropping by 5.6% YoY in usage and scoring only 37 out of 100 for satisfaction, as a result of restrictions on its use, social distancing and people choosing individual means of transport (i.e. walking or biking). The challenge for cities will be how to entice members of the public back onto these services in order to, reduce traffic congestion and limit environmental damage in cities.

[Rajeevraj]

Going to be a mix of home and office. Most of the stuff can get done from home, but occasional visits to office will definitely be required. Ultimately it will be what the organization and individual groups decide. Personally for me, I would like to be in a mode where I can go to office, say once a week and work from home the rest of the time.

For job types which support it, while 100% work from home would definitely be very attractive to a lot of people, I guess it would be hard on many-especially those who are extrovert in nature and thrive on direct human interaction. So that is something companies and organizations have to keep in mind and plan for when making or offering 100% WFH decisions.

[arindambasu13]

No WFH for us, except for a temporary period. There is something to be said about a professional office set up, especially those in the professional services sector such as legal and finance. In our field, it is extremely important to have that client to lawyer contact, face to face meetings and a full fledged set up for team members to deliver seamlessly. Working form home can only be a temporary solution for us, in my view. Would prefer to get back to office as soon as it is safe to do so.

[paragsachania]

I have been working from home since almost 5 years now. While the initial 2 years I would travel once a fortnight, I stopped driving to work since a while and I am super comfortable with this set-up not because I would spend time on the road but because I am more productive for my kind of role.

Even if I am asked to drive to work, I have my travel times that I'm in the office by 0715 and start back home by 1400 and continue rest of it from home.

So yes, without explaining this further, I am sure that I will stick this working model for a good period of time.

There were a lot of apprehensions earlier on how for certain cases work-from-model may not work at all but somewhere we have managed those areas too and have been successful.

My wife who got bugged during the initial days of work-from-home and kept asking me how the heck I manage it at home now dreads to drive to work .

[ninjatalli]

I believe we are jumping the gun. Work from home option is going to get a HUUUGE boost for sure going forward, but there are aspects of co-working in one location that will require firms to push for working at office in a post-covid world.

If we are looking primarily at 2021 and first half of 2022, yes work from home 100% for sure.

[hondafanboy]

For me its going to be a mix.

It is incredibly hard to do 100% work from home due to the lack of proper environment i.e. proper and dedicated space, less distractions , online schools etc.

The school thing might get sorted in a year or two, but creating a productive workspace is I think a bit complicated since many may not planned for it when they purchased their houses, so making changes on that front is challenging in the current environment. A lot of new real estate development now adding a dedicate workspace like 2.5 or 3.5 bhk etc. which will be useful in the future. If anyone is considering buying RE, do not go for 2bhk. Wait if you have to , but go for 3 bhk.

[Akshay6988]

My organization is one of the largest MNC in the India and thus I believe we won't be called back to the office any time soon. Plus I'm loving the flexibility work from home is providing. I can finish my tasks quickly without distractions. Sure there's some issues like power cut or no network but it is manageable. I found I'm more productive working from home than the office (being a bachelor has this pros). Even if I switch jobs between, I will opt to work from home whenever possible. And oh yes, no commute in the dreaded Hinjawadi traffic since a year !

[Turbohead]

Mix of office and home.

Currently, with WFH, there simply is no clear demarcation between work and office. Even managers expect us to work well into 13-14 hours.

At the same time, I'm grateful that I don't have to waste 3 hours everyday in commutes.

I would prefer to mix it up. I'm a social animal and I would love to meet up with my team-mates occasionally although WFH might be more productive.

[aaggoswami]

Voted for "100% work-from-office after Covid situation settles down".
There is no demarcation between home and office now. Literally, no line. WFH = anytime available, and this has added to WFH woes as if the lockdown or curfew fatigue isn't enough. Office has distinct advantage of timings, certain discipline and we are more at sync with outside world and what's happening inside office. Right now, the trust factor among employees may have taken a hit. Office would allow for more visible traits and emotions too, like an unhappy boss. Its better for managers to vent out their anger/complaints in meeting room rather than over a call where due to any reason a subordinate or team member might not be available.

[speedmiester]

Yes, I am working 100% work from home. I have been working from home for the past 2 years and since this pandemic, we have even closed our office and taken up 4 seats in a co-working space if required. So far I have never used them and it will be that way for quite a while.

[utkarshshukla92]

As an individual I would like to WFH for the rest of my life but ultimately it depends on the employer. I feel I am more productive at WFH than office and its been more than an year I travelled in Delhi Metro. Many of us have already received emails for WFH extension till year end.

[am1m]

This poll should be for business owners and senior managers/HR managers of organizations who can actually make those decisions.

As an employee, my answer is basically "I'd love to, but it depends on what my company decides". In my case, HR has made it amply obvious that they can't wait to get us all back in physically as soon as they are allowed to! Continuing to pay for an expensive office space that hasn't been used in over a year and doesn't look like it will be for another year or so, while also saying on every call that "productivity has been great and in some cases better while everyone is working from home" - should be a no-brainer, right?! But nope, office space still being retained, we'll be back...someday.

By then I dunno if I'll have the guts to quit and look for a job that allows permanent work from home. My quality of life has improved dramatically without that horrible commute.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

...makes me wonder whether those boundaries were clearly defined and respected before, or is it just a case of the 'venue' of unreasonable overtime having shifted to our personal living space?

Absolutely! If the only way you can get your manager to give you a break/you can take a break from work is by starting a 1-hour plus commute, then that is probably an issue of not being able to define the boundaries, not a flaw of the remote work model!

(Now if people want to escape their families/children by going in to the office, well, then that's something else )

But either way, are those valid reasons to cause insane traffic and inflated real estate in cities like Bangalore?

[Chetan_Rao]

While working from home definitely poses challenges in separating professional and personal aspects of one's life (esp. those who don't have dedicated working spaces at home and irregular schedules), the 'WFH is leading to my manager/employer not respecting boundaries' perspective makes me wonder whether those boudaries were clearly defined and respected before, or is it just a case of the 'venue' of unreasonable overtime having shifted to our personal living space?

A case of 'I'd much rather slog away doing overtime in a designated cubicle away from home instead of my family walking by asking why I haven't logged off for the day yet?'

[AtheK]

I have been working from home from almost 4 years now, I only used to go to office once in two months or while we had some meetings. I though miss this setup, atleast we all used to meet up once in two months or so just to have a team lunch or just a catchup.

I will continue in same fashion till i am in this organization, though my decision to switch a job will now depend on this option. I would be only comfortable joining a new organization if they have very flexible approach to work from home policy.

[BlackPearl]

Though I have voted for mix of home and office, I want it to be more of office and occasional work from home when needed. I take all these talks of increased productivity due to WFH with a pinch of salt and definitely believe that the world was a better place when we regularly went to office and were less productive