Since COVID-19 began forcing countries to lockdown we’ve heard the phrase “things will never be the same” countless times.

How true that statement is is yet to be seen, given we’re only three months into the pandemic and the far reaching effects of things like border closures and work ceasing for the most part, are yet to be felt.

However, we can take a look at how folks have adapted to working from home thanks to a survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Citrix.

Before we dive into the survey results we need to make a few statements. The data being presented was only garnered from US office workers who are now working from home. The survey also only sampled 2 000 individuals which is rather small when you consider the US has approximately 158.13 million people working.

As such, we recommend taking these figures with a grain of salt.

No jeans and hygiene

Look, we’re not judging folks, but looking at the figures, the respondents in this survey aren’t all that worried about showering everyday.

As few as 34 percent of respondents said they shower everyday. To bring that figure home a bit, only 5 percent of respondents live alone.

For a bit of a laugh, 25 percent of respondents said they get half-dressed so that they look nice for video conferences.

Business up top. Party at the bottom. ??‍?? pic.twitter.com/pc41TUb0ks

— Donovan Goliath (@DonovanGoliath) April 15, 2020

Actually working from home

As for working from home, folks seem to be adapting slowly.

What struck us as odd is that one of the issues we’re concerned about in South Africa is also an issue in the US.

That issue is connectivity.

As many as 33 percent of respondents said that slow broadband / WiFi at home is their biggest challenge when working from home. Strict security protocols are also a challenge and strangely so is using multiple services for conference calls.

The survey also found that while folks are taking slightly longer breaks, they aren’t all that much longer. Before working from home, US office workers were taking an average of 27.89 minutes of breaks a day compared to the 31.18 minutes of breaks folks are taking now.

Respondents also noted that they are drinking more coffee with 37 percent citing they are drinking far too much java from their home office.

As for the future of working from home, respondents seem somewhat confident this will become the new normal.

As many as 37 percent of employees surveyed think their organisations will be more relaxed about working from home.

That having been said 33 percent of respondents are eager to return to the office so working from home isn’t for everybody and that’s okay.

You can find the full results of the survey here [PDF], but as we’ve already mentioned take these results as an overlook at how folks are coping and adapting rather than explicit evidence that things are changing.

I now need to go put on a collared shirt, I have a Zoom meeting in a few minutes.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]