The Majority of Companies Will Keep Remote Work Policies

Remote work seems like it is here to stay. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Digital Pulse survey, which tracks market disruption, measured the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on businesses. It concluded that pandemic-inspired workplace models will likely stay in place following the pandemic.

The survey reports that 69% of companies have found that 75% of their workforce can work remotely without issue. As a result, 64% of companies plan to increase remote work policies following the pandemic, compared to policies in place prior to the pandemic. In addition, 32% of companies will reduce their office footprint as a result of remote work adoption. Smaller companies are more likely to adopt these policies permanently, and companies with fewer than 1,000 employees found that 100% of the work staff could work remotely in the long term.

This could have significant consequences for the office market. Already, the office market has seen an 11.7% increase in office sublease space nationwide last quarter, according to a report from Colliers International. In major markets, that space is being offered at a 23% decrease in rent compared to direct leasing space. Further reductions in office footprint or permanent work-from-home strategies will put more pressure on this space.

The pandemic has also encouraged companies to adopt technology and digital practices during the pandemic, and those policies won’t change following the pandemic. According to the S&P report, 27% of companies plan to shift to a digital delivery of products or customer experience and 27% of companies are now utilizing a cloud-based service. In addition, 23% of companies are reporting a permanent shift to a reduction of in-person sales.

As of October, only 8% of companies plan to shift back to in-office work in the second half of this year. In the June survey, 27% of companies expected to return to in-office work in the second half of the year. Instead most companies expect to return to some sense of normalcy next year. According to the survey, 27% of companies plan to return to in-office work in the first half of 2021, and 17% of companies plan to return to in-office work in the second half of 2021. Another 15% of companies are planning to permanently shift to remote work, 3% think they will return to the office after 2021 and 11% have no plan in place yet. However, in the June survey, 18% of companies had no plan yet, so uncertainty is improving.