BambooHR Study: Post-COVID-19 workplaces slow to return to normal

Lindon-based BambooHR, a provider of cloud-based human resources management software, has released a study that found that the reality of returning to physical workspaces is proving a disappointment for many employees. The recently completed in-depth study found that nearly half (43 percent) of office workers found returning to the office did not match their hopes.

BambooHR surveyed 1,000 working adults in the United States to better understand attitudes around returning to work and adoption of models like hybrid work in a rapidly evolving environment. It found that many employees were not eager to return to in-person work, even as workplaces slowly began to reopen. A vast majority (82 percent) of offices have re-opened with an option for or requiring employees to return full-time. Of those, just 32 percent of respondents had actually returned to full-time work from the office.

“At some point in March 2020 we all said goodbye to our coworkers and expected we would see them again in a couple of weeks, but instead many of us have become permanent remote workers,” said Cassie Whitlock, head of HR at BambooHR. “As companies reopen workspaces, it’s important to understand what their people are expecting and how to manage reality in order to create a positive outcome for everyone.”

BambooHR’s study found the expected benefits of returning are not matching the reality of being back. BambooHR asked respondents to consider the differences in what they wanted from returning to the office and how it matched their actual experiences. More than one in three (37 percent) office workers said they actually felt worse being in the office than they did at even their lowest point during remote work. Sixty-one percent of workers had wanted in-person collaboration, but only 49 percent saw any benefit from actually experiencing it

Bamboo said 54 percent of people expected higher productivity by returning to the office, but only 35 percent found they were more productive. The expectation of a deeper sense of company culture (37 percent) dropped to 21 percent of those who actually felt it was happening

In-office perks have also been curtailed for many during the pandemic, according to 61 percent of employees. Perhaps unsurprisingly, in-office food and beverage took the biggest hit, with free coffee and drinks (gone, said 30 percent), free snacks (23 percent), a cafeteria (23 percent) and catered meals (18 percent) which were once prominent but now no longer offered.