Pets are the happiest about remote work, finds Qualtrics survey

Who benefits the most from remote working? Pets, apparently, according to the results of a recent survey by Qualtrics. The survey, which asked employees in the US how their lives have changed over the last two years, found that family relationships have generally improved: 68% grew closer to family members, 40% said their family life was better off and another 41% reported it unchanged, and 89% said their children were happier when they are working from home.

And a whopping 95% said their pets are happier when they are working from home.

It's not entirely surprising, given that pets are entirely reliant on their human companions to interact with them, take care of them, entertain them, and keep them healthy. Almost every well cared for pet would prefer its human to be at home all day, spending time with it, and not disappearing to the office from morning to evening. The benefit is mutual, too. A separate survey by US-based pet products company Honest Paws found that when a co-worker's pet appears in a Zoom meeting, almost half the participants find their work-related stress lessened.

The same goes for children, most of whom would prefer having their parents around; and adult family members for the most part would also want to spend more time with their loved ones.

Unsurprisingly, the happier home life has also left quite a number of employees happier overall. 41% said that they are overall better off happiness-wise, and another 35% found themselves unchanged.

But 24% did say they were unhappier overall, and while the Qualtrics survey doesn't break down the reasons, it's very likely that at least some of this group had their finances and mental health affected by the pandemic. 27% of employees said that their finances were worse off and 31% said their mental health was worse off - one of the largest negative impacts among quality of life indicators that the survey measured.