COVID-19 changed the way how many Americans worked. Even as some businesses open back up, many people are still working from home (WFM.)

One company, Metova, made a survey back in April. While this was four months ago, not much has changed in the world of COVID-19. Metova is a leader of machine learning, blockchain, and other emerging technologies. They surveyed 1,000 and more people who were working from home for the first time due to COVID-19. They asked the workers topics relating to security, productivity, and tech. You can find their survey here. Most notably, the survey found that nearly half (48%) felt more productive, and over half (57%) want to work in the future. Over two thirds (68%) have other students or workers in the house.

Not all results are positive. A third (31%) found that WFM was less secure and nearly a fifth (18%) found that their employer had poor security guidelines. Over half (53%) had glitches while video conferencing. Over two-thirds (76%) have some form of video conferences.

There does seem to be a culture shock for new WFM employees, with some liking it, and others not. What most can agree on is the fact that how we work is now much different than it was before. Many employees, and employers, will have to rethink how they do business.

Another thought to consider is that any transition is going to have its bumps. Employees and employers may take a while to learn remote working, and it can take a bit for both sides to upgrade their servers. This doesn’t mean that WFM should be avoided; many people find it increases productivity. However, one should be mindful of the transition. Sadly, the sudden impact of COVID-19 made it difficult to prepare for a transition that, in hindsight, should have happened a long time ago.

To summarize the survey results again from lowest to highest:

• 18% believe their employer has no clear guidelines for security
• 20% don’t follow security guidelines, or have none at all
• 31% believe working from home is less secure
• 37% have run into possible issues of security
• 48% feel like they are more productive, with 29% believing the opposite. We assume that the remaining 23% are people who felt there wasn’t a difference in productivity
• 53% have had glitches, dropped audio, or other issues with video conferences
• 54% upgraded their tech to WFH. This can not only mean buying a new computer, but buying other tech such as a printer
• 57% want to WFH indefinitely
• 68% have other people WFH in their household. This includes students
• 76% use video conferencing