According to a survey of 3500 employees in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, workers want their productivity to be measured by the results they get, not the number of hours they put into the workweek.
The survey by enterprise software and services provider Adaptavist found that 58% of workers want to eliminate the 40-hour workweek, and nearly half (47%) believe the best flexible work option would be a 28-hour workweek. four days. Nearly a third (XNUMX%) also said their employer already offered a four-day workweek option.
"They also think the definition of productivity needs to change," the survey authors said. “Nearly 60% believe that the focus should be on quality of work over number of hours logged, another indicator that the workplace needs to continue to evolve.”
The research aims to provide insights into how workers shape and adapt to their new workplaces. The survey polled views on topics such as hybrid work life vs. office life; productivity, collaboration and isolation; communication tools; Health & Wellness; and the future of work.
adaptiveThe results reflect "the changing dynamics between employees and management, as well as a continuing shift in attitude toward traditional workplace constructs." As workers return to the office in slightly greater numbers, hybrid and remote work setups are here to stay, something echoed by more than one research body.
Last year, Gartner predicted that 31% of all workers globally would be remote (either hybrid or fully remote) by 2022. But the most recent survey by Adaptavist found that 43% were working hybrid or fully remote, and even more people wanted to have more of a voice. they work (59%), the structure of their work week, and how their productivity is measured.
"The transformation of work in recent years has been a long one, but it will also continue to evolve," said John Turley, organizational transformation leader at Adaptavist. "Just as employees have grown accustomed to questioning the level of flexibility and freedom their organization offers, they are now correctly considering the costs associated with returning to the office, working from home, or a combination of both."
In addition to where and how workers get their jobs done, the survey also asked what collaboration platforms employees couldn't live without. More than half of those surveyed chose Microsoft Teams (54%), compared to Zoom (46%) and Slack (12%).
adaptiveAlthough communication apps have come a long way in the past two years, they still cause "tool fatigue", leading to wasted time and a sense of invisibility online; more than a third of those surveyed said they were too overwhelmed with work to talk to their colleagues, according to the study. As a result, nearly 90% of workers said connecting in person was important, even essential, and ranked connecting with coworkers as the top reason for returning to the office full-time.
When asked how much time they spend searching for information to do their jobs (such as searching through emails, chat conversations, and saved documents), more than half said at least 30 minutes. Some 17% said they spend up to two hours a day searching for information to do their jobs.
AdaptedAdaptavist research also found that while employees want more choice and control over their work lives, hybrid and remote working come at a cost in the form of isolation, loneliness, and increased workload. Around 30% of workers surveyed said they feel lonely on a daily basis, and asynchronous workers, those who do not communicate in real time with bosses and colleagues, are the most affected (39%).
The survey also indicated that one in three workers is actively looking for a new job, with better wages outweighing flexibility, work-life balance and more meaningful employment as reasons for switching.
"This would seem to indicate that the market is still in favor of the employee, but this research reveals a red flag for job changers. Of those who have already quit their jobs as part of the Great Resignation, more than a third regret the decision,” the report said.
Every month for more than a year in the United States, more than 4 million workers leave the workforce, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For the more than 1 UK employees surveyed by Adaptavist, these problems, coupled with inflation and the rising cost of living, have created a new "labour cost" crisis that affects not only where they work, pero como. Del 200% de los encuestados que dijeron que tenían ansiedad por regresar a la pharmacy, el 38% dijo que la ansiedad se debía al viaje.
Given higher transportation and fuel costs, "it's not surprising that people prefer the flexibility of working from home where they can, with 29% saying commuting reimbursement and/or free parking is the benefit they get." would like your company to provide them to return to work". the office full time,” according to Adaptivist. And 28% said they wanted free food and drink, highlighting how people are affected by rising prices.
The largest four-day workweek experiment to date is underway in the UK with the support of researchers from Cambridge, Boston College and Oxford. The study follows 3.300 workers at 70 companies who are paid the same wages and are expected to complete the same amount of work as when they work five days a week. Organizers say they have seen significant improvements in worker welfare.
The 6-month experiment involves people working 32 hours over those four days, instead of the usual 40 hours over five days. Workers get five days' pay for every four days they work, according to Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College and one of the study's administrators.
“We are seeing very promising results from ongoing trials from February 2022,” Schor said in an email response to Computerworld. "Employees are experiencing a wide range of positive health and wellness outcomes, and the companies are very pleased with the results and plan to continue the four-day program."
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.