A lot has been written on how the global workforce is adapting to remote and hybrid working after the COVID-19 pandemic made social distancing mandatory.
While many people feel that work from home has allowed them manage their family better and provided more time for self-care, others feel stifled from the diminishing boundary between work and personal life. GitLab’s new reportOpens a new window on remote work, Out of the Office: How the world adapted to working remotely in 2020 explores what employers and employees think of the trend.
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What Do Employees Want?
One of the key reasons that has resulted in work from home challenges is that there is no guidebook for this new trend. The report noted that 56% of people surveyed had been working remotely for less than a year. “Another 21% had up to five years’ experience, and 21% had more than five,†it added.
When asked if they want to go back to offices, only 1% said they would like to do that. This indicates that more and more people see themselves as remote workers and would rather invest time and energy to improve their abilities so that they can adapt to the model better.
How Are Employee Lives Transforming?
With remote working as the future, people are also considering making major life decisions around it. For instance, moving to other places or design a home-based workplace.
Nearly half of the respondents said they are considering moving but it depends on whether they must come back to the office and if their companies would support relocation.
A whopping 47% of respondents said they would prioritize nature/outdoor when it came to choosing a location for working from home. Also, 34% said they would value a pleasant environment to work in. Work from home also benefited people who love to travel. At least 22% of respondents said they took advantage of remote status to move around and work from different locations, preferring the ones with a warmer climate and better community.
The study also noted, “Ironically, in a world where so many companies have spent a lot of money on office perks like snacks and gyms, only 5% said they missed those perks.â€
The study also quoted a respondent saying, “I would move to a larger home about 1 hour away that has green space, forest, and beach and a strong community aspect. That is missing in my current city.â€
How Are They Spending Free Time?
Now that people are expected to have more time, what are they prioritizing?
The study found that most 37% of respondents have been spending their free time with their family or community. Another 30% said that they are prioritizing health. However, only 3% and 4% of people are prioritizing saving money and being more productive, respectively.
But There Are Some Challenges
People seem to be aware of the drawbacks of work from home. When the GitLab survey asked what advice, remote workers would give to anyone jumping the bandwagon, a majority (77%) of them highlighted four red flags. They are:
- Setting boundaries (25%)
- Staying focused and productive (20%)
- Protecting mental and physical health (23%)
- Putting personal priorities first (9%)
This finding also supports all the studies which talk extensively about the feeling of burnout and stress that often comes with work from home.
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Employers, Are You Listening?
Employers might be worried about the lack of productivity and tendency to slack among employees while working from home, but it is quite the opposite. More than half of the people surveyed feel that remote working improved their output. Even lack of communication does not seem to be a big challenge as 65% of respondents said that working remotely has either not impacted or positively impacted their teamwork.
Employers should also realize that supporting remote working has an impact on retention. According to the study, 74% of respondents said they are “somewhat†to “very†likely to remain with their current organization because of remote work support.
It is imperative, especially given the current scenario, that employers invest in creating a good office culture, taking care of employees’ mental health, and focus on being more inclusive and diverse.