If you had the choice between a $30,000 annual raise or the option to work from home, which would you choose? Having experienced more than a year of remote work during the pandemic, American employees are clear on their priorities: 64% of employees polled by the anonymous professional network Blind said their employer can keep the cash, because they’d prefer to work from home permanently.

                By                    Dawn Allcot

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Only JM Morgan Chase & Co. and Qualcomm had more employees say they would take the money instead of working from home, Portland Business Journal reports. For Chase, the numbers were close to a 50/50 split, with 47% choosing to work from home. Forty-two percent of Qualcomm employees said they would choose to work from home instead of receiving a raise.

“Before Covid, not a lot of people actually experienced working from home so they didn’t realize the benefits,” Kyum Kim, Blind co-founder and head of U.S. Operations, told PBJ. “They had commute plans, plans to send children away to school or child care. Their whole life setting was surrounded by environments that were optimized by going to the office.”

If money won’t entice people to once again embrace the commuter lifestyle, what will?

Childcare remains a barrier for some employees returning to work, especially for parents of young children. On-site childcare and flexible hours may help get workers back into the office. Offering commuting incentives, such as reimbursing transportation costs, may also help, as it reflects that employers understand employee concerns.

Additionally, a U.S. Census survey found that 4.2 million adults say they are still afraid to return to the workplace due to fear of Covid-19, the Wall Street Journal reports. If employers can incentivize vaccinations through cash incentives, extra paid time off, and other perks, it may help create a safer work environment that will encourage workers to return to the office.

Check Out: 45% of Americans Have Moved During the Pandemic, New Study FindsRead Next: JPMorgan Chase and S&P Global Flee NYC, Turn Financial District Into Ghost Town

Undoubtedly, the pandemic has changed many things about American life and it’s possible that remote work will be here to stay.

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