COVID changed where we work. The impact could be strong in NC cities.

“Go to work” is the mantra of the American work ethic, but for many it now ends with a question mark.

Sixteen months into the pandemic, people accustomed to working from home are asking whether they really want to go back to the office or hold out for a job that will allow them to keep some flexibility.

The rise in delta variant infections has postponed a showdown between employers and workers over the back-to-the-office issue, but the time will come eventually.

It will be especially intense in places like the Research Triangle and Charlotte, where there are concentrations of college-educated workers who have happily given up their daily commute and are enjoying the freedom of controlling where and when they work.

The personal finance website WalletHub recently ranked North Carolina as second in the nation for telework, based in part on the share of workers who do or could do their work remotely.

A Pew Research Center survey of 5,800 employed adults found that among college graduates, 58 percent said the responsibilities of their job could be done from home. Among those with graduate degrees, it was 68 percent. And among those who said they can do their work from home, more than half – 54 percent – said they would prefer to continue working remotely once the pandemic passes.

This preference for remote work and its ability to be done successfully may be one of the most significant changes to emerge from the pandemic. Yet business leaders don’t seem to appreciate how profound it may be.

Will the need for Charlotte’s skyscrapers remain if many employees revolt against going back to the office? Is the concept of Research Triangle Park – a concept based on the physical concentration of tech-heavy companies – still relevant as workers disengage from working together in a particular place?

Technology has made remote work possible and, at least so far, more productive than traditional office-based work.. But what’s giving this trend added power is the merger of technology with psychology. It’s in sync with a preference among younger workers for more freedom from the office and a better work-life balance.

Certainly there are also positives to working in an office. Communication is faster and more direct. It builds relationships and strengthens a company’s culture. But the energy and power in this trend are on the side of workers.

Joseph Mazzola, a Meredith College psychology professor who studies workplace stress and advises companies on meeting employees’ needs, said young people proficient with digital technology have easily transitioned to remote work during the pandemic.

“Twenty and 30 somethings understand the technology better and they’ve just gone through (working at home) and they say: I really like this,“ Mazzola said. He added, “I’ve had students who graduated and companies have told them they’ll never have to work from an office.”

Mazzola thinks a hybrid work schedule consisting of three days in the office and two working from home may be the best compromise between workers and employers as it provides both flexibility and a connection to co-workers.

“We forget how much of our day is spent stopping to talk to people,” he said. “If we don’t somehow build that in when we are working remotely, that can be a negative.”

Companies that want to bring their employees back to the pre-pandemic routine of daily commutes and long hours away from home will face resistance and will lose employees to companies offering more flexibility.

If North Carolina employers embrace rather than resist this shift, it could propel the state’s already vibrant economy into a higher gear. Many sought-after employees could effectively work for companies here without moving here.

Someday the pandemic will pass, but this change to remote work will remain and grow. North Carolina would be smart to grow with it.