As employees adapt to working from home,
bathrooms replace conference rooms, kids and pets crash meetings,
cameras capture candid moments and awkward sounds
In the blink of an eye, remote work went from an experiment to a
requirement. And as the results of a recent survey conducted by
OnePoll on behalf of Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) reveal,
work has a completely new look as employees around the world adapt
to the realities or working from home. Beds have become desks,
bathrooms serve as conference rooms, kids and pets crash virtual
meetings and cameras thought to be off capture awkward moments and
sounds. Yet, workers remain as, if not more, productive and
engaged.
The New Normal is Not Normal
Remote work has become the new normal. But for most employees,
it is anything but. “It’s interesting, funny and novel to see your
co-workers in their pajamas on a video call,” says Donna Kimmel,
Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Citrix. “But for
remote work to work, employees need to get into a repeatable rhythm
so they can be and do their best wherever they happen to be.
A New Routine
With their daily commutes reduced from hours to minutes, the
majority of the 2,000 US workers who participated in the OnePoll
research – comprised of office workers currently working from home
due to the Coronavirus outbreak - are adapting their daily
routines. While 24 percent get up at the same time as they did when
commuting to an office, the vast majority say they are working
around a new clock:
- 25 percent sleep in a little more
- 22 percent sleep until the last possible moment they need to be
online
They’ve also adjusted their personal routines and spend less
time getting ready for work:
- 34 percent shower every day
- 26 percent continue to do hair/makeup/other grooming
- 15 percent shave less
And 25 percent of respondents say they can focus and get work
done more quickly as a result.
Ready or Not, Here it Comes
Few employees were ready for the abrupt shift to remote work
that the coronavirus pandemic has forced. And while 82 percent of
those who participated in the OnePoll survey said their companies
were “completely” or “fairly ready” and had the technology and
infrastructure in place to enable it on short notice, they cited a
number of issues that make working from home tough:
- Strict security protocols and lack of single sign-on, requiring
multiple passwords and two-factor authentication to access apps (33
percent)
- Slow home broadband/Wi-Fi (33 percent)
- Lack of access to all the apps needed to get work done (23
percent)
- Slow Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection (16 percent)
The Home as Office
When it comes to remote work, technology is only a piece of the
work-from-home puzzle. “In addition to providing a digital work
space that has all of the tools and data a person needs, it’s
essential to create a physical one that fits individual work
styles,” Kimmel says. And the OnePoll data shows employees are
getting creative in doing so, as most are sharing space with others
who have also been forced to work or learn from home,
including:
- Partners (64 percent)
- Infants aged two and under (28 percent)
- Young children aged 3 to 12 (56 percent)
- Teenagers (13-17) (41 percent)
- Adult children (18 and over) (22 percent)
- Parents (23 percent)
- In-laws (19 percent)
- Elderly relatives (15 percent)
- Roommates (15 percent)
In addition, 14 percent of office workers reported temporarily
working from their second/vacation home, 13 percent at their
parents’ or in laws’ house and five percent are even sheltering in
a hotel.
From the Boardroom to the Bathroom
To accommodate the schedules of their new officemates and
minimize distractions, respondents to the OnePoll measure said they
have taken calls in unusual places:
- Their bedroom (33 percent) or their child’s room (25
percent)
- Bathroom (29 percent)
- Garage (24 percent)
- Basement (23 percent)
- Closet (17 percent)
- Attic (15 percent)
- Outside (14 percent)
Herding Cats – Literally
But this hasn’t prevented interruptions. Of those polled who
said their children and pets have made appearances on video
calls:
- Children (24 percent)
- Pets (13 percent)
- Both children and pets (29 percent)
Smile, You’re on Candid Camera
“I love seeing a formerly office-bound executive dive into a
call in the kitchen — with shower hair, kids in the background, yet
their razor-sharp savvy and perspective intact,” says Meghan M.
Biro, Founder of Talent Culture. “It’s fun to watch people be
surprised by their own grit and resourcefulness. It’s also fun to
keep it real. It takes some of the edge off our tremendous
anxieties right now.”
But it can also lead to some awkward moments. Roughly 44 percent
of workers have signed on to video meetings and not realized their
cameras were on, only to be caught:
- Doing chores – cleaning, folding laundry, emptying the
dishwasher, etc. (44 percent)
- In the bathroom (41 percent)
- Cooking (40 percent)
- Working out (38 percent)
- Eating (37 percent)
- Lying in bed or on the couch (33 percent)
I can Hear You...
Many have also experienced embarrassing moments thinking they
were on mute when their microphones were actually on and they could
be heard:
- Making awkward noises (41 percent)
- Talking about someone on the call (37 percent)
- Talking to someone else in the room with them (28 percent)
Casual Everydays
What does working from home look like?
- 29 percent of those polled wear slippers or no shoes
- 28 percent get dressed in the same attire they would wear to
the office
- 25 percent wear sweatpants or pajamas
- 25 percent get half-dressed so they can “look nice on video
conferences”
- 24 percent wear workout clothes
The Future of Work?
And will it persist once the pandemic subsides?
- 37 percent of employees surveyed think their organizations will
be more relaxed about working from home and 32 percent say they
plan to do so more often
- 33 percent are eager to return to the office
- 28 percent indicated they will actively look for a new job that
allows them to permanently work remote
Citrix provides a complete range of digital workspace solutions
designed to enable remote work. Click here to learn more about
these solutions and how your organization can use them to deliver a
superior experience that engages employees and empowers them to
perform at their best.
Methodology
Citrix commissioned OnePoll to conduct an online survey of 2,000
office workers in the United States who are currently working from
home due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The research was completed
between April 2 and April 14 2020.
About Citrix
Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) is powering a better way to work with
unified workspace, networking, and analytics solutions that help
organizations unlock innovation, engage customers, and boost
productivity, without sacrificing security. With Citrix, users get
a seamless work experience and IT has a unified platform to secure,
manage, and monitor diverse technologies in complex cloud
environments. Citrix solutions are in use by more than 400,000
organizations including 98 percent of the Fortune 500.
For Citrix Investors:
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this
release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those
statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially, including risks associated with the
impact of the global economy and uncertainty in the IT spending
environment, revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products
and services, their development and distribution, product demand
and pipeline, economic and competitive factors, the Company's key
strategic relationships, acquisition and related integration risks
as well as other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation to
update any forward-looking information contained in this press
release or with respect to the announcements described herein. The
development, release and timing of any features or functionality
described for our products remains at our sole discretion and is
subject to change without notice or consultation. The information
provided is for informational purposes only and is not a
commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material,
code or functionality and should not be relied upon in making
purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.
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marks appearing herein are the property of Citrix Systems, Inc. and
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Media Contact: Karen Master Citrix +1 216-396-4683
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