Remote Work Survey Findings and Implications for the Future of Work
FlexJobs ran a survey of more than 2,100 people who worked remotely during the pandemic from March 2021 through to April 2021. They found that not only do employees want remote work post-pandemic, 58% say they would absolutely look for a new job if they weren’t allowed to continue working remotely in their current position.
65% want to work remotely full-time post-pandemic, and another 33% prefer a hybrid work arrangement. Top concerns of returning to the office include Covid-19 exposure, less work flexibility and worse work-life balance. Some other top level findings include:
55% say their productivity increased while working remotely, while 33% say it stayed the same.
30% say their ability to collaborate has improved in a virtual environment, compared to a traditional office, one-third say their ability to collaborate has suffered (33%) and another one-third say it has been unchanged (34%).
Cost savings is listed as the 2nd top benefit of working remotely (75%), second only to not having a commute (84%), and 38% estimate they save at least $5,000 a year from remote work.
Not having to travel/drive to meetings (75%), wearing comfortable clothing (58%), the ability to mute (55%) and more scheduling flexibility (51%) were the top favourite elements of video meetings.
86% engaged in some kind of professional development during the pandemic.
50% like video meetings versus 14% who dislike them.
37% would consider relocating if they had permanent remote work.
70% do not think working remotely during the pandemic has had an impact either way on their chances of promotion/advancement.
However, when work becomes more geographically dispersed, managers have less insight into what work their employees are doing. This leads to inaccurate and potentially biassed performance ratings based upon where employees work rather than the impact they are having.
A Gartner survey in late 2020 of nearly 3,000 managers revealed that 64% believe in-office employees are higher performers than remote employees, and 76% believe in-office workers are more likely to be promoted.
Moving forward, with advances in new technologies, companies across the globe are scrambling to create the ultimate future workplace.