Understanding the Range of Emotions Felt by Remote Workers During COVID-19 | The Martec Group

This research explored the range of emotions that workers have experienced while working remotely. It is based on 1,214 employees across different industries, demographics, and seniority levels. One takeaway is that there are four unique worker segments within the remote work audience, ranging from total contentment to complete distress. Perhaps unsurprisingly, each of the four segments has a distinct emotion profile that correlates with how they perceive remote work. Thriving Employees (16%)—those who reported greater job satisfaction, motivation, and company satisfaction while working remotely during the pandemic—are more likely to be introverts. These introverts prefer to work in solitary environments with less social interaction. Discouraged Employees (27%)—those who reported the most significant declines in mental health and job satisfaction — are more likely to identify as extroverts who crave social interaction. Although this isn’t a scientific study, the research reinforces how workers’ personal preferences (not just company policy on remote work) impact whether remote work fosters or detracts from outcomes of interest, such as employee wellbeing and productivity.