Working in traditional offices is still a hit: Randstad
The Randstad Workmonitor report was launched in the Netherlands in 2003 and currently spans over 33 countries globally. The quarterly report identifies global as well as local workplace trends by surveying thousands of employees from all over the world, with a minimum of 400 respondents from a country. The data for the 2018 Q1 report was collected from 10-26 January 2018.
Here’s a quick look at the highlights of the report.
The Way We Work
- The traditional way of working in an office, during the office hours, is still the most popular among global employees. Nearly 68% of all the respondents felt this way, with the highest in India at 85% and the lowest in The Netherlands at 47%.
- The shift to remote work, outside of office hours is, however, also gaining currency. This shift is also reportedly the highest in India at 69%, followed by China at 66% and the lowest in the Czech Republic at 28%.
- 41% of the respondents were already working in an agile work environment, with the highest in India at 64% and the lowest in Luxembourg and Greece, both at 27% each.
Work-Life Balance
- 82% of all the global respondents admitted that they prefer agile working because it allows them to maintain a good work-life balance, and 81% said that it enhances productivity, creativity and job satisfaction.
- However, 44% of the participants also stated that it caused more pressure on their personal life, for they can never ‘disconnect’ from work. 47% of the male respondents echoed this thought, as opposed to 40% of the female respondents.
- 65% of all the respondents prefer to work from home or another location from time to time, and 56% said that their organization offers them the technical support to undertake the same.
- 64% said that although they would very much prefer to work from home or another location, there is no possibility to do so in their job.
Communication and Autonomy
- 69% of the global respondents confirmed that they have frequent in-person meetings to enhance coordination and improve communication, whereas 36% said they have virtual team meetings through video conferencing.
- A majority of the Indian respondents reported the use of virtual team meetings (71%) – the highest, whereas Luxembourg scored the lowest at 15%.
- Nearly 2 in every 3 employees (66%) have the freedom to organize and prioritize their own work, where 48% admitted that their manager does the same for them.
- Another 56% said that their manager tells them what to do. Unsurprisingly, the level of autonomy increased with age.
Global Viewpoints
- The Mobility Index did not move compared to the last quarter of 2017, and the same number of employees worldwide are expected to work for a different company in the next six months. India showed no movement in the Index, whereas Norway’s increase was the highest (+7).
- India reported the highest actual job change (44%), followed by Malaysia (39%).
- The desire to change jobs increased in Hong Kong, India, Norway, Turkey, the UK and the US and decreased in Italy, Japan, Spain and the Netherlands compared to last quarter of 2017. India reported the highest appetite for change at 45% and Turkey reported the lowest at 15%.
- Mexicans are the most satisfied workers, as they reported the highest job satisfaction levels (84%), whereas Japanese were the least satisfied at 45%.
The results show that there are plenty of takers for traditional offices and work structures as well. India seems to a unique case, for it reported the highest preference for traditional offices and also witnessed the highest shift to more agile workplaces. Even the other findings reiterate that overarching assumptions about what employees want must not become the bedrock of people practices. While it is natural for employees to seek work autonomy, better communication with the team and a healthy work-life balance, the report shows that all these crucial elements still elude a large section of the workforce. As we step into an unknown and new future of work, these viewpoints will hold a lot of water. As formal employee policies give way to remote and flexible working processes, what employees want will dictate the dialogue.
You can download the entire report here.
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