Survey shows many Chinese deem telecommuting the future of work

A primary school studentattends an online class meeting from home in Beijing, capital of China, April 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A survey by China Youth Daily found that 86.3 percent of Chinese people who were interviewed by the paper have the experience of working from home due to the COVID-19 epidemic and 63.7 percent of them believe telecommuting is the future of work.

Among the 2,002 respondents, the post-1980's generation accounted for 42.2 percent, followed by the post-1990's generation at 40.7 percent and the post-1970's generation at 9.7 percent.

While some said remote working has many benefits, such as greater flexibility, others pointed out that flexible working practice may have downsides like distractions.

According to the survey, 52 percent of the respondents think that telecommuting can improve the efficiency of remote workers, while 19 percent believe the opposite.

Teleworking supporters said remote work not only saves them commuting time but also eases traffic congestion and reduces their carbon footprint, which is a good way to going green.

Over half of the surveyed said working from home can help them better balance work and life. However, more than 50 percent of the respondents also pointed out that working from home may blur the lines between work and personal life.

About 41 percent of the surveyed said they found it more difficult to communicate with colleagues while working remotely. ■