Ivanti, an IT asset and service management software solutions company, released on Mar 10, the study findings that highlights an evolution in work sentiments, which uncovered that about 71 per cent of employees chose to work from anywhere than getting promoted.
A total of 6,119 office workers and IT professionals from different parts of the world participated in the study, revealing that over 4,200 of them prefer remote work to a promotion.
However, despite the popularity and accompanying perks of remote work, 10 per cent of the respondents confirmed that it was a double-edged sword leading to negative effects on their mental health.
Additionally, many employees feel the effects of losing personal connection with coworkers (nine per cent) and being expected to work longer hours than when in the office (six per cent).
On top of these findings, the report also highlighted a further gender divide.
“Ivanti’s research shows that the remote work experience for both office workers and IT professionals varies across gender lines. More men than women report being passed over for a promotion in this digital-first culture,” said Meghan Biro, founder and CEO of TalentCulture, an HR marketing company.
“Women, however, are expected to work longer hours, but have benefitted the most overall from the flexibility that remote work brings.”
The company said that this shift in employee experience could not be ignored, and employers must respond by adopting technology that facilitates collaboration and lessens the disparities in experience across gender lines.
The future of work models
The research found that 42 per cent of employees prefer a hybrid model of work, while 30 per cent said they would rather work from home permanently.
This is a 20 per cent decrease compared to a previous study, as many wish to interact with colleagues again or noted less noise and distractions at the office.
“The pandemic has catalysed a monumental shift in where and how people work,” said Jeff Abbott, CEO of Ivanti. “The good news is that by increasing automation of common or mundane tasks, companies can improve work-life balance for IT and security teams, plus prevent data breaches and most importantly improve employee experiences.”
Read the whole report here.
Ivanti canvassed the opinions of 4,510 office workers and 1,609 IT professionals in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brussels, Spain, Sweden and Australia to understand their attitudes to remote work, points of disagreements among different demographics and the specific benefits and concerns they have taken from the remote working experience thus far. /TISG
Amidst Covid-19, work from home can be a ‘double-edged sword’