LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Some major companies like Microsoft have announced employees can work from home long-term, indicating that this workflow so many got used to during the pandemic may be here to stay.

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Ashli Watts said, when the pandemic hit in March, many employers wondered if employees would be productive at home. What they've noticed since is that many people can stay on track, even when working out of the office.

“I think in the last seven months, employers have found that employees really can be productive and sometimes more productive working from home," Watts said.

Another reason working from home was not as common before is that many companies had not figured out solutions to make it work. When the pandemic hit, the whole world had to adjust to the changes. In many cases, companies started implementing technology they never used before.

“I remember in March I had not utilized Zoom or any web platform and quickly that became life. Even on days that I am in the office, it is back-to-back Zoom calls. That is the way forward in terms of what we see for the near-term," Greater Louisville Inc. president and CEO Sarah Davasher-Wisdom said.

With coronavirus cases rising, Watts said many employees have been told that they will not be back in the office until at least 2021. Research-based consulting firm Global Workplace Analytics predicts 20 to 35% of all employees will be working from home multiple days a week in 2021

“A lot of times they are happier. People like having a little more flexibility, a little more time to spend with their family, and not necessarily being locked to a desk from 8 every day,” Watts said.

While Watts thinks working from home will be more common when the pandemic is over, Davasher-Wisdom said there have been downsides, so she thinks going back in person is the better solution when it is safe to do so.

“I am going to remain hopeful that we are all back at work and we simply have more hybrid meeting options so we can fit more things into the day and be more productive, but at the same time, we can be back to a more normal state of affairs,” Davasher-Wisdom said.

No matter whether people work in an office or at home, it's clear that workflow will never be the same.