Half of office workers will keep working from home after pandemic restrictions ease, survey shows

Half of American workers will continue to work from home rather than return to an office environment after stay-at-home orders are lifted, according to the results of a new survey conducted by Transearch, an executive search company.

"Many employees and companies have proven they have the tools available to continue to work collaboratively, efficiently and with positive results, while still being remote," Bridget Papanicholas, COO of Transearch, said in a statement.

Just 23% of employees worked from home prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the survey of approximately 100 U.S. executives showed.

Remote work arrangements to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have had a profound impact on corporate dining, with foodservice researcher Technomic predicting a slow recovery for business and industry eateries even as local lockdowns ease.

“The future of B&I foodservice is a moving target,” Joe Ganci, president of Sodexo corporate services for the Eastern half of the U.S., recently told FoodService Director. “Every state is moving at its own pace, and every operation has its own back-to-work plan. But our overriding priorities are to make [foodservice] employees feel safe and bring value to our customers at a scary time.”

To help keep employees engaged as they continue to work from home, companies such as Google and Salesforce have been offering food-centric activities such as virtual cooking demos and wellness classes.