85% of Americans want to go back to the office post-pandemic

While the Delta variant has delayed workers returning to offices in some cities and left retailers wondering where to shut down and where to expand, a new survey provides a glimpse of what workplace populations will be like post-pandemic.

An Eden Workplace Software-sponsored survey of 1,000 full- and part-time office workers conducted by Wakefield Research found 62% of them desiring hybrid workplace situations once the effects COVID-19 are gone. Twenty-three percent are diehard office workers who intend to be back at their desks five days a week, while 15% want to work remotely on a permanent basis.

That means that 85% of employees want to be in the office in some capacity, precisely in line with a similar survey sponsored by Eden in February that also showed 85% of workers wanting to remain connected to offices in some manner.

“The data shows a couple things conclusively: a healthy majority of people are enjoying their return to the office, and that the future is hybrid,” said Eden Workplace CEO Joe Du Bey, CEO and co-founder of Eden Workplace. “That said, only a minority of people gave their employers an ‘A’ for their return-to-office execution. For one, a majority of office workers want their employers to protect them by making vaccinations mandatory, yet only a minority of companies have done so.”

Just 37% of those surveyed gave their employers an ‘A’ for how they’ve managed resuming in-person work, according to the new survey. Forty-four percent said their companies have instituted vaccine requirements, and 78% of those respondents said they are happy to be back in the office at least part-time.