90% of people working from home want to continue to do so: Labor union

More than 90 percent of employees who now work from home want to continue to do so after the pandemic is over, according to trade union CNV’s survey of a thousand members who work from home. However, employers are asking one in three home workers to return to the office if the work from home advice expires.

“Many employers are eager to ask their staff to return to the office," said CNV chairman Piet Fortuin. He doesn’t agree with this, because according to him employers also get many advantages when employees work from home.

In the survey, almost three quarters of members who work from home indicated that they are more productive, 55 percent have a better work-life balance and 90 percent say they continue to work with mild coronavirus complaints. Forty-four percent say they are more motivated and healthier, and one in three feel more creative.

However, more than half of employers do not have a long-term policy for working from home and roughly a third of employees are not satisfied with the current work-from-home policy.

“Many employers’ work-from-home policy is bad: no long-term vision, often no cost-effective allowance for working from home, and the physical and mental support also leaves much to be desired, according to this study,” Fortuin said. “This attitude of employers is unwise and is a waste of capital, certainly, in such a tight labor market.”

The research also shows that 26 percent of home workers do not have a technically sound workplace at home, such as a good desk chair and screen. Twenty-eight percent indicated that their employer does not facilitate them in this, and 17 percent have physical complaints such as a sore arm, neck or shoulder.

“We call on employers to develop an adequate work-from-home policy as soon as possible, with the right physical support,” Fortuin said. “Given that people are more productive, continue to work with coronavirus complaints and there are many other benefits to working from home, employers can earn these costs back easily.”