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Tech workers universally want long-term remote working * The majority of tech workers are hoping for permanent, post-pandemic remote working. * While some tech workers will welcome the flexibility and lack of commute, others are starting to worry about how to develop their careers if they are always working from home. * Tech companies are planning to adopt a hybrid approach combining remote and onsite work.Many major companies have chosen to remain remote as the Covid-19 pandemicwears on — and plenty have no immediate plans to return to the office. Themove comes as pandemic-related closures have already kept many tech workersout of the office for months – resulting in the most concerted shift towardsremote working in human practice.It used to be a distant prospect once and this year, remote working hasabruptly turned into an everyday reality for many businesses, thanks to thepandemic. According to a study by recruitment company Indeed, It has had agreater impact on flexible working in tech than it has in almost any othersector.Microsoft chief people officer Kathleen Hogan, on the Microsoft Blog, saidabout ways they are embracing a flexible workplace. She refers to the guidancethey have provided covering three specific areas including worksite, hours,and location.Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield also said that tech companies can’t bringemployees back to the office even if they want to. In a FastCompany InnovationFestival event, he said, “If we say that everyone must return to the office,or we expect people to, and one of our competitors says you can work remotely,who wouldn’t take the second option there?“There’s a market force at play. So I don’t know that individual companies aregoing to be able to opt-out.”### Tech professionals and remote workingAlmost all tech employees (96%) believe remote work is here to stay, and mostof them prefer it due to the greater flexibility (86%) and work-life balance(83%) it provides, according to Indeed which surveyed 616 US employees fromthe tech sector who worked in the office before Covid-19 and switched to full-time remote work.Additionally, two-thirds of tech workers believe these shifts will increaseworkplace diversity, in terms of disability (79%), gender (77%), andrace/ethnicity (72%), while some worry that a larger talent pool will increasecompetition, many are optimistic about the increased access to jobs. Some 60%of tech workers plan to search for remote positions within the next year, yetremain close to home.“Just because there’s a pandemic doesn’t mean people have put their careers onhold, but their reasons for seeking new jobs varied. Nearly half (48%) of themare looking for a better salary. However, fear is also a motivator, with 44%and 38%, respectively, citing potential layoffs and furloughs,” it said.Surprisingly, six out of 10 tech workers willing to take a pay cut to continueworking from home. Since nearly half (48%) of the tech employees surveyed nowhave the option to work from home permanently, even though they weren’t doingso pre-Covid, not all, but only 95% intend to take their employers up on thisoffer.### The downsideWhen it comes to the impact of remote work, the glass is half-full for someand half-empty for others. For the 5% of respondents who want to go back tothe office, 63% of them say working from home makes it harder to collaborate,while 62% cite the lack of social opportunities with coworkers.In fact, half of this small yet vocal minority think working from homenegatively impacts their career growth — and nearly half say they will lookfor a new job in an office if their employer switches to permanent remotework.A slight majority (52%) worry about their future job prospects if morecompanies make the switch, due to increased competition from workers in otherareas. However, 45% of tech workers believe the shift will make it easier forthem to find a new job.