COSTA MESA, Calif., July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than half of Americans forced to work or study from home because of the coronavirus now have a more favorable impression of the experience and more than two-thirds would make it a permanent arrangement if given the choice.

These are the findings of a national online survey measuring opinions about online working and learning just as shelter-in-place orders are being lifted to allow millions of employees nationwide to return to the workplace.

Commissioned by California Southern University – a national, 100-percent online university that helped start the distance and online learning revolution in 1978 – the survey polled 1,004 adults 18 years of age and older between June 29 and July 1, 2020. Of those questioned, 43% said their work and/or school routines were impacted by shelter-in-place orders caused by COVID-19, and just 5% said they already worked or studied from home prior to the pandemic.

Consistent with other research showing growing public acceptance for online employment and education, 55% of respondents impacted by the coronavirus have developed a more favorable or much more favorable impression of working or studying from home since the shelter-in-place orders, with 26% in the much more favorable group. Just 17% claimed a less favorable or much less favorable impression, and 28% were neutral or undecided.

Ranked by generation, millennials (ages 24-39) had the highest percentage of positive responses at 61, followed by Generation X (40-55) at 58% and Generation Z (18-23) at 48%.  Sixty-three percent of men polled said they’ve developed a more favorable or much more favorable impression of online working and learning since the pandemic, versus 47% of women.

When it comes to working and learning preferences for the future, the results are even more conclusive. Sixty-seven percent of all respondents whose work or school schedules have been disrupted by COVID-19 said they would definitely or probably choose to work or study from home permanently if given the option. Millennial and Gen X participants claimed the highest percentage of positive responses, at 73% each.

Men impacted by the pandemic are now more likely than women to want to work or study online permanently instead of going into an office or classroom, at a ratio of 73 to 61%.

“These findings confirm what most of us at CalSouthern have known for years: once busy students see what is possible with online learning, few want to go back to a traditional classroom,” said Glenn Roquemore, Ph.D., California Southern University president. Roquemore himself recently made the shift from traditional to online learning, joining Costa Mesa, Calif.-based CalSouthern in 2019 after nearly three decades with Irvine Valley College in Irvine, Calif., the last 17 years as president.

One of the first universities in the country to offer completely web-based curriculum, California Southern University provides working professionals degrees in behavioral sciences, business, nursing, education, and criminal justice, producing thousands of graduates since its founding in 1978. The regionally accredited university was one of the first to apply an outcomes-based, active self-learning approach that combines 100% online programs and monthly class-starts with a personal touch highlighted by one-to-one mentoring.

About California Southern University
California Southern University is a regionally accredited university specializing in 100% online programs leading to certificate, associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in behavioral sciences, business, nursing, education, and criminal justice. A pioneer in distance learning since 1978, Costa Mesa, California-based CalSouthern applies an outcomes-based, active self-learning approach combining all-online learning, monthly class-starts and world-renowned faculty with a personal touch and one-on-one mentoring. The school targets working professionals and others in need of supplemental education and undergraduate and graduate degrees but challenged by finances, geographic isolation, job, family and other perceived constraints.

The CalSouthern alumni family totals tens of thousands of professionals living and working globally. To learn more, visit www.calsouthern.edu.

Media Contacts:
Bob Ochsner or Dan Nasitka
Rocket Science for CalSouthern
(949) 233-0984