Post-Covid remote workforce numbers are widely projected to be significantly higher than pre-Covid percentages. That projection is supported by a recent March 2021 Zpryme survey of national consumer attitudes and expectations. A key finding of the survey reveals that, for 40.9% of respondents in all industries, having the option to work remotely from home is either moderately or very important to them. Those numbers hold largely true regardless of gender or geographic region, suggesting a significant nationwide sentiment toward remote work.

Of significance to utilities specifically, with an aging workforce and seeking to attract younger staff, survey respondents aged 18-24 (46.9%) and those aged 25-34 (48.3%), believe that a remote work option is moderately or very important to them. Remote importance levels drop with increased age.

Utilities, already operating pre-Covid with a remote field workforce, had placed many internal staff at home during the Covid crisis. Utilities can likely expect a new normal in which at least some staff request to stay remote or work a hybrid home-office schedule in the post-Covid environment.

To find out how to access the full report and review findings from Zpryme’s Return-to-Work Expectations and the Importance of Remote Work – Utility Response Benchmarking Report, click here.