Study — 75% of Employees Would Give Up Benefits To Work Remotely

We’ve been working in a hybrid environment for more than a year now. Millions of people around the world were forced to stay home and adapt to a new way of getting things done. The historical ritual of getting up and commuting to work on the train, bus and highways, gave way to making a mug of coffee and walking to your home office, dining room table or coffee table for work.

Businesses had long talked about moving more employees to a telecommute style of work and the world events forced us into a year long experiment. Most employees have enjoyed the flexibility of being able to work from a location that makes sense for them. Many of those same employees found their productivity actually increased as they no longer had the stress of a daily commute and were able to reallocate that time to project work.

Most employers are working on a strategy for a return to work whether that is in full time in-office or hybrid capacity. Many of those companies have also set timelines for that return to the office with many starting late this spring or in the autumn. That move will be viewed differently by different employees.

WeWork and Workplace Intelligence recently surveyed 2,000 corporate employees to better understand the dynamics and impact of the hybrid work model on business productivity, employee satisfaction and financial success. What they found may surprise you.

64% of employees would pay out of their own pocket for access to an office space

Spending a year in a flexible work environment has had a tremendous impact on the quality of life of many employees. They have been able to eliminate their commute and work in a location that makes sense for their personal and professional life. Employees are so happy with this arrangement they are willing to spend money out of their own pocket to ensure that their workspace will continue to work for them and their employers.

75% of employees would give up at least one workplace benefit or perk for the freedom to choose their work environment

Similar to paying out of pocket, employees would be willing to trade 1 benefit for another. Perhaps giving up vacation time is worth it, if it also means you can work from the resort during the day while enjoying your travel destination at night. If you have a good internet connection and a quiet place to work, why not work from your hotel or AirBNB during the day and spend the evenings enjoying the beach, nightlife and local cuisine of a new destination you’re exploring.

79% of executives plan to let their employees split time between offices and remote working

Many large companies have already taken the step of announcing that flexible or fully remote work environments will be the new normal. Major corporations like, Twitter, Square and SalesForce have told employees that they may work from home indefinitely. This is a major workplace perk and competitive advantage. With employees greatly preferring the flexibility to work from anywhere, these companies will be better positioned to take advantage of the best talent available.

76% of those executives said they will likely provide a stipend to work from home or a co-working space

Many companies such as Uber and Airbnb are providing their employees a monthly $500 stipend to work from home. This makes sense, because employees have been forced to spend money on things like furniture, technology, remodeling and improved internet connections to work remotely. The cost of a monthly stipend is less than those same organizations pay for office space. Many companies spend well more than $600 per month on just the office space, not including utilities, perks, building security, etc. By paying employees a stipend to work from home, the employee gets an improved workspace and the business saves money. The bigger the business the bigger the savings.

53% of employees prefer to spend 3 days a week or less in the office and when they do go in, want to be there no more than 5 hours

When asked how many days employees would work from the office if given the choice, more than half said they would want to work in an office 3 days per week or fewer with 12% saying they do not want to go back to the office any days at all. Further, when asked the appropriate amount of time to spend in the office on days they are there, half of those surveyed said 5 hours or less was the right amount of time. The primary reason to head into the office would be for collaborating on in-person meetings. Unless those meetings last the full 8 hour workday, there is no real benefit to continuing to work in the office physically.

Employees who are more engaged and satisfied want to spend twice as much time in locations other than their home office or corporate offices than their less engaged colleagues

Highly engaged and productive employees were already likely to recommend a hybrid work model before the pandemic. That is a notable statistic that employers should pay close attention to. Employees that prefer flexibility to work remotely and happier and more productive than those that want to work in an office. Employees that want to work remotely are more engaged, happier, more productive and cost the company less in workspace costs. Employers should be moving to a hybrid environment and looking for employees that want to work in that type of work model.

The Future Workspace is Flexible

It’s clear that the future of work will be much more flexible than it has in the past. The pandemic has forced businesses to work in remote work environments and they have found largely that employees were more satisfied and more productive when they did. When you combine the improved performance, happiness and cost savings it makes a lot of sense to reduce spending on office space and offer employees more or total flexibility in their work locations. Combine that with the fact that the majority of employees prefer this model and that it will become a competitive advantage to offer this and businesses that require in-person work, may see their recruiting department struggling to attract the best talent.

Were you impacted by losing access to your office in the last year? Did you find yourself more productive during this time? Do you want to go back to the office? Tell me about it! Post below, contact me or meet me at my website LeaderLifeline.com!

Originally published at https://www.leaderlifeline.com on April 14, 2021.