Two-thirds of US workers are working in isolation

Two-thirds of US based employees are currently working remotely at least part of the work week as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey from Clutch, a B2B ratings and reviews platform. The report claims that 44 percent of all workers are currently working from home 5 or more days per week, up from 17 percent before the pandemic.

Just 34 percent of workers aren’t working remotely at all during the pandemic, likely a direct result of most states only allowing essential out-of-home work or a reflection of workers who have been laid off.

People appreciate the personal time they have gained from not having a commute while working from home. Nearly half of employees (47 percent) say no commute is a benefit of remote work. Employees also enjoy a more flexible schedule as a result of working from home (43 percent).

One-third of workers (33 percent) say it’s harder to collaborate with co-workers while working remotely. To reduce communication issues, however, many companies are turning to collaboration tools such as Zoom (36 percent), Microsoft Teams (19 percent), and Skype (17 percent).

It is hard for many employees to focus fully on work at home. More than one-quarter (27 percent) say interruptions and distractions is a challenge of remote work.