As people around the world continue to work from remote locations, data is beginning to surface on how all of this is going. Some of the findings are a bit surprising.

A survey has recently been released by Citrix Systems Inc. based on a 2,000-respondent sample of U.S. office workers polled in the first half of April. The results showed that 38% of workers said their organizations were “completely ready” to start fully working from home, which may strike some as surprising given the suddenness of the transition for many businesses.

While 33% said their home broadband/Wi-Fi was slow, this number may seem low given that the U.S. ranks just eighth in the world when it comes to internet connection speeds and no one foresaw a time when most of the enterprise ecosystem would suddenly need remote access virtually overnight. No one also anticipated that entire households would need access on a 24/7 basis either.

Perhaps more intriguing was what the data revealed about the impact of remote work arrangements on personal lives. Approximately a third of respondents reported that their new workspace was in the bedroom, and nearly the same amount described unscheduled appearances by children or pets during video calls.

This switch from “office persona” to a more personal glimpse into lives outside of work is one of the defining moments brought to reality by the global pandemic.

“We’re being forced to really see each other as human beings,” said Tamara McCleary (pictured, right), futurist and chief executive officer of social media marketing agency Thulium. “Whether you’re the CEO doesn’t matter. What matters is your dog is still barking, your child is still running around and needs something from you in that moment when you happen to be on a call. It levels the playing field and shows us all how human we are.”

McCleary spoke with Jeff Frick, co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, as part of the “Remote Works: A Citrix Virtual Series.” She was joined by Amy Haworth (pictured, left), chief of staff of human resources at Citrix, and they discussed a shift in mindset toward working from home, adapting to change, the rise of fully remote businesses, and improved communication across organizations. (* Disclosure below.)

Productivity boost

Despite barking dogs and small kids needing snacks, there is evidence to suggest that working from home can actually result in a significant boost in productivity. A two-year study conducted by a professor at Stanford University found that employee attrition among telecommuters decreased by 50%, they had fewer sick days, and they took less overall time off.

A more recent Gallup analysis found the same correlation between working from home and lower absenteeism, in addition to demonstrable improvements in productivity and cost savings.

For Citrix, this was brought home recently when one of its employees, working from his garage, set a sales record, according to Haworth. “There are all sorts of heroics taking place,” she said. “We all have to shift our mindset about what work really means and who we are at work.”

Part of what has held organizations and employees back from making the work-from-home switch is an inherent reluctance to change. Statistics published last fall showed that 44% of global companies did not allow remote work at all.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken care of that issue in one fell swoop. Citrix’s own survey found that 37% of workers believed their companies will be more relaxed about remote working once the pandemic is over. Change may be slow, but it’s coming.

“The conversation around the whole change management field is about to change,” Haworth said. “We are more resilient, more adaptable, more capable of change than many of us knew we were.”

Creating sense of community

There are a number of companies that operate on a fully remote model, and one of them is McCleary’s firm — Thulium. The media marketing agency was founded to help enterprises with social media investment. Running a fully remote business has its advantages, but it takes particular attention to creating the right culture and spirit of collaboration, according to McCleary.

“The way that I’ve built our organization is to treat everybody like an adult and get your work done,” McCleary said. “With a remote workforce, you have got to pay attention to how you are creating that community and that sense of value for each and every individual within the organization. It’s creating a culture of positivity and collaboration versus competition and creating a culture where people feel a part of a team and a part of something bigger.”

Creating that sense of making a contribution can mean breaking down hierarchical barriers. The shift to video conferencing has generated more inclusivity among work groups at Citrix, according to Haworth, who described instances where senior executives were coming in as unexpected “celebrity guests” and participating in coffee chats.

“Organizational leaders that are pretty high profile are popping in unexpectedly to have a genuine question-and-answer conversation,” Haworth noted. “The employee response has been deep appreciation for feeling several degrees more connected to our senior leadership.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Citrix Systems Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Citrix nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE