CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a nice summer day, it’s not uncommon to see people escape to the park, like Whitney Feltus.
“It’s almost like a break and it’s good to get your mind off of things and get away,” she said.
Feltus works in healthcare. At the start of the pandemic, she worked remotely, but she’s reversed course with her husband who now works from home while she goes into the office.
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It’s a juggling act employees and employers have been ironing out for months.
One of Charlotte’s largest companies recently told employees they’ll work from home for the rest of the year.
“We’ve found people are slightly more productive working from home than they are at work,” said LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda.
[READ MORE: Coronavirus: Google to keep employees working from home through summer 2021]
Lebda said out of an abundance of caution, they won’t bring people back to the office. But, he acknowledges the challenges that families working remotely face.
“Instead of one job, now you’ve got two or three jobs,” he said.
Feltus knows the feeling well as a mom to her nearly 2-year-old son.
“They see you there. They want your attention. And, it’s hard not to give it to them because you love them more than your job, obviously,” Feltus said.
The challenge is finding balance with so much at our fingertips. Lebda is encouraging his employees to unplug and relax while reimbursing some childcare costs and closing the company down on select days.
[ALSO READ: LendingTree donates $1 million to COVID-19 Response Fund]
The timing happens to work out for LendingTree. When employees do hopefully return to the office by early next year, it will be in a new building in South End.
Lebda and his team are adding safety precautions while the building is still under construction, like office dividers and added space between work stations.
“If COVID is still with us then, we’ll not only be back to work but hopefully back to work with better conditions,” he said.
Cox Media Group
