The workplace is changing (or maybe not). People are going to work from home at higher rates than before (or maybe not). Companies are going to close their offices (or maybe open more). The nature of work is changing before our eyes (or maybe not).
COVID-19 has brought a wealth of discussion about the nature of work and the workplace. Many companies are trying to bring clarity to the discussion by polling any given population they can track down including real estate leaders, likely workers, knowledge workers, or just anyone willing to respond to an online poll. The problem with polls is that you do not always have control over the population that chooses to respond. If the people who choose to participate are not your target audience, then the responses are not going to reflect what you think they do.
Let’s also think about the nature of poll responses. When people respond to a poll, they are providing their opinion based on a quick assessment of their current thoughts and feelings. Let’s consider the baseline implications of that for a workplace poll during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic:
- People have been out of the office and away from their work friends for going on a year.
- They have been more productive at home than they would have guessed but are still ready for a change.
- They are acutely aware that they are capable of working from home more than they used to.
- They have no idea when this pandemic will wrap and any degree of normalcy will return and are trying to hold steady in the status quo.
All this together paints the picture of a large population that wants to return to the office but will acknowledge that they can work from home more than before. Guess what poll after poll says people want?
The issue here is that just because people say something in a poll today, doesn’t mean they will still feel that way once the pandemic has passed. You cannot take responses during a change event as reflective of post-event realities. Emotions and time play too much of a critical role in how people respond to questions. If you are planning for the future of the office, don’t rely on today’s polls.