It might be time to reevaluate your remote work policy, as a new study found that employees working from home are more satisfied and more optimistic about work than their in-office counterparts.
For the last two years, remote work has been a given for a wide range of positions around the world. Now though, employers are happy with the lower cases and substantial vaccine rate, and they've decided that now is the time to head back to the office. However, employees are pushing back, noting that flexible schedules make life infinitely easier, and the improved productivity numbers imply that there's no need to go back.
Even more so, this new study shows that employees are happier than ever working from home, an important statistic to consider for any business trying to navigate the Great Resignation of 2022.
Remote Workers Are More Optimistic and Satisfied
The study from the ADP Research Institute — titled People at Work 2022: A Global Workforce View — found that, generally speaking, remote employees are more optimistic (89%) than their on-premises coworkers (77%) and have more job satisfaction (90%) compared to those that commute to the office (82%).
“Two years post-pandemic, workers are thinking harder than ever before about what they really want out of work and life and are reassessing, and in some cases, inverting ideas around what they are worth, what job security means and what they want from their employers.”
Whether it be the flexibility of schedule or just the ability to wear sweatpants at work, remote policies are clearly a driving force for employees in 2022. Unfortunately, business owners are lagging behind on providing the option, which seems unwise, particularly considering the other statistics found in this study.
Remote Work Is the Way
According to the study, not only are remote employees more satisfied and optimistic, they're also firmly committed to not returning to the office. The survey of 32,000 workers across 17 different countries found that 64% of employees would considering looking for a new job if asked to return to the office full time.
Workers are willing to sacrifice to keep their remote work dream alive too, with 52% willing to accept up to an 11% pay cut to avoid returning to the office. However, with the attitudes about employer-employee relations as they are right now, pay cuts may not be the best way forward.
“COVID-19 triggered a re-evaluation of what job security means to workers, with many wanting more from their employers.”
Simply put, employees are demanding that employers start actually caring about them and for good reason. Great employees are getting harder and harder to come by without the right incentives, and if you aren't going to pay them and let them work from home, they're going to go somewhere that will.
If you want to get your company set up to provide a more comprehensive remote work policy, we can help. We've done a lot of research to evaluate some of the best tools, including remote access software, antivirus platforms, VPNs, and password managers, which will allow employees to work from home without risking the security of your business.
