More are working remotely now than pre-pandemic, survey shows

More Greenwood residents are working from home post-pandemic than prior to it, a survey found.

The survey, conducted by Aspire Johnson County, the local chamber and economic development organization, found that half of the respondents work from home, with 85% of those workers believing they will continue to do so in the future. Of the respondents who do not work from home, 88% said they believe they will in the future.

Aspire conducted the survey in conjunction with the Greenwood Economic Development Commission and Direct Impact Partnerships LLC to determine the pandemic’s impact on Greenwood’s daytime population.

The groups sent postcards to 21,000 residents and received 470 responses. Though this is a small subset of the city’s nearly 60,000 residents, it gave the economic development organization some insights into the city’s workers.

Nearly all of the residents that worked from home used to have a work commute longer than 20 minutes, the survey found. These workers are now spending more time in Greenwood and are more willing to ditch the commute by working in the city.

“That information just confirms we are on the right track with our economic development strategy to continue to attract companies that keep our strong, well-educated workforce talent within the county,” Amanda Rubadue said in an Aspire Johnson County news release. Rubadue, vice president of economic development at Aspire, led the study.

Companies may decide to open offices in Greenwood to tap into this group, according to the news release.

The increased number of workers relying on their home internet connection highlights a need for reliable high-speed internet bandwidth in the city, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said in the news release.

“With this information, we can coordinate with our utility contractors to ensure the proper infrastructure is designed in a manner most efficient for our residents,” Myers said.

The number of workers spending more time during the day in the county indicates room for growth among current and new retailers and restaurants in the area, the findings found. Aspire will use the survey results to help attract new businesses to Johnson County.