The Coronavirus Pandemic shifted and shattered the previous norms in the workplace and continues to direct choices made by students for their future careers.

Ever since the 2020 shutdown, many workplaces have shifted to hybrid or completely digital workspaces. This is a huge shift from what was previously the norm. Matt Gerkin, a 50-year-old Bucks County resident, welcomed this change.

Pre-pandemic, he worked in person every day for a company called FINRA, “I worked in person for over 20 years, and working from home has allowed me to be more productive and dedicated while allowing me the freedom to focus on my personal life when needed. It has also allowed me the opportunity to take breaks when I need to.”

He explained, “Working from home allows me to be productive for longer because I don’t have to commute for three hours into Center City every day.”

Bucks Mathematics Professor Robert Luisi had an opposite outlook, “Some jobs are done well at home, but teaching is done better in a face-to-face environment.” He said that he preferred working in an in-person environment but agreed that an upside to virtual work environments is the lack of commute.

How will this affect students’ decision-making when it comes to post-grad jobs? Will students cater their degrees to their preferences for the work environment?

Rorbie Auguste, a 19-year-old Bucks psychology student, doesn’t think that work environments are worth debating about. “I don’t even think it should be a debate. I think it’s beneficial for companies to let their employees be able to work in an environment where they can be most efficient.”

Auguste’s goals after Bucks include either becoming a clinical psychologist or a school psychologist. When asked if the work environment plays a part in her career choice, Rorbie said, “To be honest, it didn’t influence my major choice much. I knew that I’d mostly be working in person unless I chose a telehealth option which I’m not against.”

Alejandra “Lola” Sosa, a 20-year-old Bucks psychology student, would prefer working in person over at home. “I do think it is necessary to work in an office due to its professional environment.”

Sosa’s long-term goals include getting a master’s in counseling psychology, which has career options both in person and online.

Although her personal preference is in person, she believes that “every person should be able to pick whichever option works for them without being put down or having negative stigma attached to the option they chose.”

Bucks Alumni, Kendall Craig, graduated Bucks with a Liberal Arts degree in 2020. She is currently working as an HR Assistant for a car dealership where she works 100 percent in person.

“I was working in the food service industry for about six years until last year when I had my first full-time job. That job was entirely remote due to Covid-19, and the internship I did after that was hybrid. Both were unexpected opportunities that I would have been happy to take regardless of the environment.”

Craig would prefer a “hybrid position as there are elements of both remote and in-person that I enjoy.” She said that at her next job, she would like to have a few days in person and a few days at home each week.

When asked about productivity in work environments, Craig says that it changes based on the environment. “I would say that it depends on the person. For example, one individual might excel with productivity and self-motivation in a remote setting, while another individual may struggle without face-to-face interaction and collaboration. For myself, I think an in-person element is important when it comes to productivity as well as mental health, but it may help to have some work-from-home days in order to focus and get more detail-oriented tasks done.”

It seems that students are not too worried about their future work environments, as a lot of careers have options. The pandemic was a huge change for everyone, and the flexibility that it provided to some is too valuable to throw away.