Maybe you're already back to the office. Maybe you never switched to working at home. Or you're on the manufacturing floor every day. But if you're among those people figuring out just what life will be like once you get back to the office, a new study points to lasting changes in office life.
Bloomberg spoke with Stanford University researchers who say only a little more than a quarter of American office workers expect a full return to pre-pandemic office life. About 72 percent of workers also said they would hesitate to get into a crowded elevator, which will impact offices in large city centers.
In addition, researcher Arjun Ramani said the study shows working from home can improve productivity by 5 percent.
"Three to 4 percent of that is saving on time that you spend commuting. The minority of it is, if you're working from home two days a week, if it's well managed you can be more productive. The reason is, basically, there will be a reorganization of work," Ramani said.
Companies can adjust schedules to set some days for in-office work and meetings, others for meetings with clients and work-from-home days for "quiet stuff like reading, writing, reports, expenses ... and that stuff turns out to be done more efficiently at home because it's quieter."