Many Say Work-Life Balance Has Improved in Telework Era

Nearly half of employees from larger companies who have been working at home because of the coronavirus pandemic say that their work-life balance has improved as a result, according to a nationwide survey.

In the survey by Vyond, an online video animation software firm, 1,000 employees from firms with more than 500 workers were polled. The vast majority — 85 percent — report that they have a healthy work-life balance at present. Some 46 percent say that work-life balance has improved since the pandemic forced many to work from home. Slightly more younger workers are satisfied about the balance: 88 percent of millennials express approval; 81 percent of boomers feel the same.

Other age-specific data from the survey:

• 50 percent of boomers “feel disconnected” from colleagues as they work remotely; that's true of 42 percent of Gen Xers and 37 percent of millennials.
• A third of boomers believe that having one's children in the background on video work calls “is a violation of remote work etiquette.” Younger cohorts are not as bothered by the incidents; just 22 percent of millennials and 11 percent of Generation Z object to the practice.
• Younger adults are much more likely to work from their beds. Nearly a third of Gen Z (30 percent) report doing so. For millennials, the rate is 20 percent, and for Gen X, 15 percent. Only 3 percent of boomers say they work while in bed.