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WFH coronavirus perk? At least you鈥檙e not commuting

An electronic message sign above the Capital Beltway in Maryland urges drivers to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic. (海角社区app/Dave Dildine)

D.C.-based B2B research firm Clutch says 44% of all workers are now currently working from home five or more days per week, up from 17% before the coronavirus pandemic, and 66% are working remotely at least part of the week.

Those of us who are might be getting used to it. And we鈥檙e finding there are some perks.

The top perk, according to those Clutch surveyed? No commute. Nearly half of those surveyed said so.

鈥淲e found that people enjoy that extra time they have from not having to drive or walk or take Metro. They are using it to exercise or to spend more time with their pets or kids. So they鈥檙e really taking advantage of not having to commute,鈥 Clutch鈥檚 Kristen Herhold told 海角社区app.

Having a more flexible schedule 鈥 time to do a load of laundry, go for a walk, start your day later, or ending it earlier 鈥 was cited by 43% of those surveyed as an unexpected WFH perk.

The biggest downside about trying to get our jobs done efficiently from home are collaboration challenges. One-third of WFH workers say so.

鈥淵ou have Slack. You have Zoom. You have all of these collaboration tools. But it really doesn鈥檛 replace in-person interaction,鈥 Herhold said.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e in an office, you can quickly pop by somebody鈥檚 desk and ask them a question. Now, you have to email them or message them, and hope they are free and can respond.鈥

Frequent interruptions are also a challenge of working remotely, with 27% saying distractions 鈥 such as kids running into the office, the doorbell ringing or construction work outside 鈥 are their biggest headache.


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Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for 海角社区app as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the 海角社区app newsroom staff in January 2016.

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