The workplace has changed drastically since March of 2020 for most Americans. As offices closed down, bedrooms and living rooms transformed into home offices with desks and monitors. Nearly two years later, discussions surrounding “return-to-work” have become a weekly occurrence.
In our latest survey, we found that 33% of respondents feel “extremely comfortable” or “very comfortable” returning to their place of work. While this is a substantial increase from the lowest point we observed in August 2021 when only 15% of respondents felt comfortable returning to work, there is a contrast from the high in June 2021, when 45% of respondents shared that same view.
Closely (rs = .64, p <.001) with employees feeling comfortable returning to work is the level of optimism that the worst of COVID-19 is in the past. Our latest results reveal that 65% of respondents believe the “worst is behind us,” with only 6% of respondents believing the “worst is still ahead of us.” While optimism levels have not reached the peak we saw in June 2021, since the beginning of 2022, there has been a 25% increase among respondents who believe the worst is over.
Results are based on surveys of 224 respondents from March 11, 2022, through March 15, 2022. All surveys were conducted online by respondents in the United States.
For more information about our survey techniques, visit our Methods page.