The COVID-19 pandemic forced white collar workers to rapidly adapt to a new way of working, and it goes without saying that the isolation of working from home was not suited for everyone. That meant swapping in-person meetings and face time with colleagues for virtual coffee chats and Zoom happy hours. It also meant saying goodbye to the daily commute and spending more time working from home.
In many ways, these changes have been positive – employees have gained increased flexibility when it comes to their schedules and where they work. And for companies, going virtual has often led to increased productivity and cost savings. But the pandemic has also brought its fair share of challenges, including more screen time, isolation, and burnout.
Here’s a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way white collar workers spend their average workday.
The New Normal: Working from Home
The biggest change for white collar workers during the pandemic has been the shift to working from home. For some employees, this has been a dream come true – no more commuting! More flexibility! The ability to design your own office!
But for others, working from home has been a challenge. It can be isolating not seeing your colleagues in person on a daily basis. And for parents who are also working from home, it can be difficult to find the time and space to get everything done. Plus, there’s always that nagging feeling that you should be working even when you’re not at the office.
But despite the challenges, there are many upsides to working from home – especially when it comes to productivity. A study by Stanford University found that employees who worked from home were 13% more productive than those who didn’t. And although there’s still some debate as to whether or not people are actually taking fewer breaks when they work from home, there is evidence that suggests people are more focused when they’re not in an office setting.
The New Normal: Video Meetings
In-person meetings have been replaced by video meetings for the vast majority of white-collar workers during the pandemic, and while this has certainly made things more convenient in some ways (no need to travel), it has also created some new challenges.
For one thing, it can be difficult to pay attention during long video meetings. After awhile, it all starts to blend together and people tune out. There’s also the issue of bandwidth – if everyone is trying to participate in a video meeting at the same time, it can result in a lot of dropped calls and connection problems.
And then there are the tech issues… We’ve all had that moment where we can’t figure out how to turn off our video or mute our microphone. Let’s just say there’s a reason “Zoom fatigue” has become a thing during the pandemic!
To sum up
Overall, the pandemic has changed the way white collar workers spend their average workday – and it looks like some of these changes are here to stay even after things go back to “normal”.