Flex workspace provider Awfis has launched a remote working report, to offer a glimpse into the changing needs and preferences of the urban Indian workforce concerning their place of work post the onset of COVID-19 and nationwide lockdown.
The online survey brings to the forefront various challenges and opportunities employees have faced and identified with this new mode of operation. Additionally, the survey also focuses on employees' willingness and ability to continue to work remotely from their home as well as infrastructural requirements to aid them to operate effectively, amongst others. The remote working report also puts forth some vital aspects that organizations would need to consider while devising their long-term remote working strategies.
The survey was conducted over a period of two months (June and July 2020) across seven metros in India, and analyzed inputs from 1000 employees across diverse industries.
Key Motivations
- 74% of the respondents are willing to work remotely, and 80% pointed out that their job roles can be performed from a remote environment
- 29% of respondents reported saving INR 3-5k monthly as a result of working from home, which was otherwise spent on commuting, clothing, food, etc.
- 60% of employees usually spend more than an hour in commute to and from the office. Therefore, due to work from home now, on average, an employee saves 1.47 hours of travel time every day. This translates to time worth 44 additional working days in a year.
Therefore, the positive sentiment to work from remote locations can be attributed to factors like significant cost savings, considerable time savings, better time management, and self-discipline.
Key Challenges
Isolation - 27% of the employees feel they lack opportunities for engaging with colleagues and developing strong networks. The inability to meet and collaborate might impact employees' creativity.
Work-life balance - 43% of employees report the inability to maintain their work-life balance while working remotely. Now that the lines between home and work are blurring, companies need to create policies that describe clear demarcations between the two, to make remote work sustainable in the long run.
Lack of adequate space & equipment - While 47% of the employees surveyed report a lack of comfortable desk and chair, 71% feel that they will be successful in working from home if they have a dedicated area to work from.
The way forward- Work from anywhere
A hybrid model - a combination of virtual and physical environments, will come to define the future of how India works thereby giving rise to the emergence of distributed workspaces that will cut across physical headquarters, satellite offices, and homes pan India.
For example, a company with a strength of 100 employees will follow a 60/30/10 split for deciding the work location (work from home, work near home, or work from the main office) of its employees depending on work profiles, work style, and individual preferences. The coworking sector is poised to become 20% of the total CRE market in the next 2-3 years, as compared to the current 5%.
Amit Ramani, CEO & Founder, Awfis, said, "The current situation has given way to a new style of working – Work from Anywhere. Organizations and individuals are gradually adjusting to this new normal. To be effective, organizations across diverse industries need to understand the changing requirements & challenges faced by their employees and provide them with the required resources. By means of this survey, we were able to deconstruct the employee perspective and share critical insights that would help managers and organizations in devising sustainable remote working strategies.”