Will Marketers Return to Offices in 2021? What Companies Need to Know [Data + Expert Tips]
Back in 2018, I chose to work at HubSpot because I loved HubSpot’s content, and its culture.
Oh — and the smoothie bar, waffle Wednesdays, and ping pong tables didn’t hurt, either.
Office space has undeniably seen a change in recent years. Open-floor plans have become increasingly popular, as have standing desks, beer on-tap, game rooms, and even greenhouse spaces. As this decade came to a close, many of my closest friends chose jobs based, at least in part, on office vibe.
And yet, it’s long been said that remote work is the future. In fact, HubSpot has been touting the benefits of remote work since 2012 in its Culture Code, which states: “Work isn’t a place we go, it’s a thing we do.”
In 2020, that premonition became a reality as the pandemic forced an entire global workforce to shift to remote work practically overnight.
And now, as the dust settles and employees find new, innovative ways to work productively from home, many businesses are wondering: Do we even need an office, anymore?
Let’s explore how marketers across the U.S. feel about remote work in 2021, and whether remote work is just a current necessity — or the new long-term reality.
Will employees return to the office?
To explore whether or not employees will return to the office in 2021 (if they’re permitted to do so), I started by surveying 496 marketers and asked the question: If given the option to go back to your physical workplace in 2021, will you return or continue to work remotely?
The results were split roughly in half. 40% of marketers will continue to work remotely full-time — and the remaining 11% don’t have the option to work remotely, but wish they did.
However, that leaves 49% of marketers who do want the option to work in an office space, at least part-time.
Let’s break down that 49% for a second: out of that 49%, 24% of marketers don’t have the option to work remote, but prefer their office space anyway; 9% want to return to the office as soon as it’s possible to do so; and 16% prefer a flexible schedule so they have the option to do either.
Other research supports this trend. Pew Research Center surveyed over 10,000 U.S. adults and found 54% of workers want to continue working from home after the pandemic ends. A third echoed they’d like to work remotely at least partially — while just 11% said they’d like to return to the office full-time.
HubSpot’s employee data highlights this shift as well, with many employees now preferring remote work over in-office — in fact, two-thirds of HubSpot employees plan to work remotely more often even after offices re-open, and approximately 16% plan to shift to fully-remote for the first time.
I spoke with Meaghan Williams, HubSpot’s Remote Work and Inclusion Program Manager, to get a better sense as …read more
Source:: HubSpot Blog
