It's becoming increasingly clear. Those against remote jobs are going to have their work cut out for them. The practice is now well established, and anyone wishing to turn back the clock should beware. We announced it to you at the beginning of the year, and now it's confirmed. The year 2024 will see the end of the return to office strategy. Indications are multiplying.
Without telecommuting, executives look elsewhere
In France, for example, a study by APEC (Association pour l'emploi des cadres) has just been published. It confirms what we, at Jobgether, already knew. The opportunity to work in a more relaxed environment, with flexible working hours and less time spent commuting, has won over French executives. In fact, 50% of them (questioned as part of this survey) say they would resign from the company they work for if the teleworking option were to be abolished.
In France today, 66% of managers telework at least one day a week. In February 2020, the figure was just 20%. The effects of Covid-19 on work organization are therefore perennial, and telecommuting is a popular option, particularly among the younger generation. "Six out of 10 young executives would resign if access to telecommuting were abolished", confirms Gaël Bouron, deputy head of Apec's research department, interviewed by French news radio France Info1.
Remote working for greater well-being
Of course, the benefits of remote working don't stop at France's borders. According to a study carried out in Spain, when you work from home, you gain 10 days of free time and are happier.
This finding is shared by Australian employees. The proof is in another study just published by the University of South Australia. What's interesting is that this study began before the pandemic. It is therefore able to measure the effects of widespread telecommuting and its consequences for well-being and health.
In concrete terms, Australians saved 4.5 hours a week just by saving the time usually lost in commuting. In fact, 33% of those taking part in the study chose to devote this extra time to leisure activities. It is a way of being more physically active, all the more reason to reoxygenate the brain for better performance at work, since too much sedentariness is a real risk when working remotely.
But the positive effects of working remotely have also been identified in other areas, notably nutrition. Yes, being at home can lead to increased snacking. But this is more than offset by the quality of the food eaten at mealtimes and a more varied diet.
For the Australian study, more generally, working from home puts us in better conditions than working on site. This is even truer, say the Australian researchers, when remote teams are supported by the hierarchy of the company they work for.
Return-to-office: zero positive effect on productivity
In short, remote working increases well-being, which can only have positive repercussions. Are managers (finally) waking up to this fact? Until recently, many of them supported the idea of returning to the office. Not sure that's still the case. The Decision Maker Panel (DMP) is jointly run by the Bank of England, Stanford University, King's College London and the University of Nottingham, and interviews CFOs from around 2,500 UK companies every month. For most of them, remote working is here to stay.
It is true especially as there is no objective data to justify a return-to-office policy, if researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) are to be believed. According to them, enforcing rules around minimum office attendance leads to lower job satisfaction and does not significantly improve firm performance in the short term.
In fact, return to the office is often called for when the company is experiencing difficulties, and people prefer to blame remote working (which has nothing to do with it) rather than question the strategic mistakes made by management.
For Atlassian's Annie Dean, the time has come to recognize that return-to-office strategies have no positive effect on productivity.