Many New Jersey workers need to get back to the office

According to research done by The Martec Group, companies need to get their workers back in to the office. The research shows a good number of employees are not as productive or happy working from home.

We've never been through such a dramatic and sudden shift in workplace rules and arrangements. The research by the company shows that employees reporting good mental health has dropped from 62% to a mere 28%.

Productivity has also taken a hit, according to the survey, with 40% of employees saying their productivity has worsened at home, 42% saying they have less focus and 42% also saying their stress has increased. Even though positive novel coronavirus cases are gone up in 21 states, some big companies have changed their minds on keeping employees working from home well into next year.

JP Morgan Chase has called some employees back into the office as of last month. Even Google, which initially said it would allow employees to work from home into next summer, has now opted for a hybrid approach. The Martec Group research conducted an Emotional Intelligence survey of 1,214 individuals across various industries, demographics and seniority levels.

A handful of our employees have been trickling in over the past several weeks. Companies are cautious about having workers come back in full force and are very concerned about liability issues. They'll have to weigh that with worries about productivity and competitiveness. Like most of how we've handled this crisis from the beginning, one big question remains: Is the cure worse than the disease?

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis' own.