NAFCU Journal September October 2021

11 THE NAFCU JOURNAL September–October 2021 1 See http://wfhresearch.com difficulty in managing and mentoring staff. While it did not place highly on either list, staff productivity—as both a pro and a con—was the most salient feature in determining how much remote work a respondent planned to utilize post-COVID. Credit unions who viewed WFH as having a neutral or even pos- itive impact on staff productivity were far more likely to plan for a high level of remote work in the future. The productivity question is a key one for all employers considering their remote work posture in the coming years. A group of researchers has been conducting the monthly Survey of Working Arrange- ments and Attitudes (SWAA) 1 since May 2020. The survey asks respondents about their own WFH preferences, along with the plans of their employers to adopt WFH post-COVID. The results indicate a large gap between employees’ desires for remote work and what their employ- ers are poised to offer. In the June 2021 survey, the average respondent preferred to work remotely nearly 2.5 days per work week, while their employers were only planning to offer 1.5 days. Interestingly, this gap appears to be largest among workers who self-reported the worst productivity levels relative to their in-office performance. While it is the case that both employee preferences and employer plans for WFH increase with worker productivity, the employer side is far more responsive. Even less productive workers want nearly as much remote work as productive ones post-COVID. On the other hand, employers of those work- ers are planning to offer far less WFH options than employers of more produc- tive workers. It should be acknowledged that worker productivity may suffer in a remote setting for a variety of reasons, which could include the provision of necessary resources and training by the employer to its workforce. It should also be noted that there is a high degree of variability in WFH preferences among workers. Roughly one-third of respondents in the SWAA preferred full- time remote work, another third wanted less than full-time but at least one day per week, and another third preferred less than one day per week of remote work. Given this variability, it will be nearly impossible for employers to develop plans that meet the desires of each member of a diverse workforce. As employers roll out plans to adopt, or avoid, remote work in a post-COVID world, workers will inevita- bly look to sort into those organizations that align with their own preferences. One implication of the latest SWAA data is that those looking to sort into organi- zations offering more WFH options than their current employer may be those that were relatively unproductive at WFH during COVID. But even if heavy WFH organizations are drawing from a less productive pool of applicants, the ability to WFH is a valuable non-pecuniary benefit which may be offset by wages. In the June 2021 SWAA, workers valued one day per week of remote work at approxi- mately 7 percent of their 2019 salary. For those employers concerned about wage growth, remote work offerings could be an important way in which they manage operating expenses in the future. Curt Long is NAFCU’s vice president of research and chief economist. There is plenty of speculation about how WFH could redistrib- ute workers across the country, from coastal urban metropolises to lower-cost interior areas. Obviously, this migration would rad- ically alter real estate markets, as well. Post-COVID WFH: Employee Preferences vs. Employer Plans Employee Preference Employer Plan Days/wk Less Productive than in Office About the Same More Productive than in Office Employee WFH Productivity Source: June 2021 Survey of Worker Arrangements and Attitudes 4 3 2 1 0