Share of Remote Workers Comfortable Returning to Office Rises, Survey Finds

Nearly two-thirds, or 63%, of people working remotely would feel comfortable returning to the office if their employer asked, while only 33% would feel uncomfortable, according to a new poll. It’s been over a year now that many people have been working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The share of respondents to the Morning Consult survey, updated Wednesday, who said they’d feel comfortable going back to their workplace is up from 55% last week—that figure was roughly in line with the average over the past four months of the recurring survey.

That means workers’ willingness to go back to the office appears to be on the rise as the nation’s coronavirus case count falls compared to recent months and as more people are able to get the Covid-19 vaccine. But there are some important caveats to the findings.

One is that about two-thirds of respondents also said that they want all of their coworkers to be vaccinated before they return and about 40% said they would consider quitting their jobs if their employer asked them to return before they felt safe.  

The group surveyed is primarily U.S. adults who usually work from an office but are working remotely due to the pandemic. The weekly surveys generally include about 400 adults.

Nearly 80% of respondents said they enjoy telework, while 62% said that they are more productive and would be more likely to apply for a job that offers a remote option.

More about the results can be found here.