Is working at home good or bad, or somewhere in the middle?
No matter how it is analyzed, remote work has become a reality for a minority in the industry since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I recently asked the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group where they are checking in for work.
As an industry professional are you working from home now?
With 127 responding as of Oct. 11, the results are:
- Yes, because of the pandemic: 17%
- No, back at office: 38%
- Yes, but not pandemic related: 25%
- Split time home and office: 20%
Less than one-fifth of those professionals who responded said they are working at home because of the pandemic. However, another quarter of those who responded say they work from home but say that fact is unrelated to the pandemic. Another 20%, so the numbers say, split time between home and the office.
The fact is, the vast majority in the produce supply chain don’t have the option of working from home, pandemic or not.
As one commenter said: “Always in the office with Covid precautions. Never at home. Produce packing (field or facility) will not allow for remote work.”
Those of us those who work from home because of corporate decisions related to the pandemic may tend to assume that everyone is in a similar situation.
Far from it. Most of the produce supply chain is back in the office, or more likely, never left.
A recent story from USA Today indicates that some companies may put off the return to the offices until early 2022 or beyond.
The story notes that many employers don’t want the liability that comes with “forcing workers back to the office” at a time when the pandemic still isn’t under control.
President Biden has announced a vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more employees to either require coronavirus vaccines for employees or implement weekly testing protocols.
There is plenty of resistance to vaccine mandates, where coming from the government or corporate America.
The principle of inertia would seem to point to continued prevalence of remote work at least through the beginning of 2022.
Some good links on the subject:
