Despite remote work challenges, 60% of firms will continue to allow their staff to work from home post-pandemic, according to a survey carried out by accounting firm EisnerAmper.
Only 8% of executives are not prepared to let employees work virtually, revealed the survey on the future business outlook in the US. And around 32% executives have yet to decide on the issue. While Covid-19 has meant tremendous economic hardship across all business sectors, executives generally feel that staff have risen to the occasion regarding productivity as a result of much of the country utilising a work-from-home model, confirmed EisnerAmper.
Approximately 70% of senior executives said productivity either increased or stayed the same in a virtual work setting. Just 14% said they saw a decrease in productivity. As a result, most business leaders will continue to let staff work remotely, even after the coronavirus vaccine is introduced.
REMOTE CHALLENGES
However, despite more firms allowing staff to work from home, only 21% plan to decrease office space. In fact, 50% senior executives said they will not downsize, according to the study.
Executives cited lack of team building as their biggest challenge of managing a virtual workforce (54%). Technology challenges ranked second at 18%. Interestingly, last year’s EisnerAmper Summit survey found cybersecurity was a major concern, yet this year cybersecurity investment for 2021 ranked fourth.
SALARY & BENEFITS OUTLOOK
With more staff working from home as a result of Covid-19, 23% of firms plan to introduce new salary structures. Around 44% of executives said they expect salary structures to remain the same. However, 33% are unsure. Surprisingly, 40% of employers have not added mental health benefits as a result of remote work; just 16% have introduced these benefits.
Additionally, 59% of employers haven’t added benefits for parents working from home with children who are remote learning; nor do they plan to. In fact, only 12% have added such benefits.
OTHER FUTURE PLANS
Over the next year, companies plan to make investments in tech (63%); staffing (43%) and training (34%). Roughly two-thirds (64%) of companies plan to stay with the same supply chain, while 36% are considering alternative sources. Another 55% said they are likely to increase the hiring of contractors or out-of-state employees.
“Our annual Summit continues to provide a wealth of helpful data on what business executives are thinking and feeling, along with the corresponding trends,” stated EisnerAmper’s CEO Charly Weinstein. “As we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding the pandemic, it’s clear that many companies will combine the practices of their ‘old normal’ with business practices of the ‘new normal’.'”
This survey confirms KPMG’s findings which reveals that the majority of US organisations will let employees decide when return to the office.
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