AGI – One in two workers fails smart working e 40% would like to come back in attendance. The figure emerges from a research carried out by the Labor Consultants Study Foundation, according to which only 52% of the “remote” workers and 50.3% of those who go every day in the presence are satisfied. But the evaluations of smart workers appear to be very polarized, between those who are enthusiastic and those who can no longer take it: compared to 16.1% who say they are very satisfied, among workers at the headquarters the percentage drops to 10.4%. At the same time, the area of intolerance is much higher: 17.2% are not at all happy with this situation, while among those who go to the office every day the percentage drops to 10.1%.
Those who have had more difficulties, to equip themselves, to connect, to manage with their children at home, not only “Rejects” smart working, but also begins to feel a sense of marginalization to a significant extent with respect to company dynamics, career penalization and real disaffection towards work. In a vicious cause-effect circle, in which these latter factors end up influencing the home work experience at the same time, highlighting the critical factors.
No wonder therefore that approx four out of ten workers are happy with the possibility of returning to work every day in the presence; 43.5% would not be, but would adapt to the new conditions, while 16.7% now look to smart working as a point of no return in their professional life: 10.7% would in fact look for any other job even though to continue working from home, 4.5% would be willing to have their wages lowered and 1.5% would even resign.
These trends do not, however, account for a cross-section of work that in reality is highly differentiated internally, where the experience of the last year has been lived in a very different way by young people and adults, by workers with children and not. Women and men on average express the same favor, although among the former the share of those who are “very happy” to work from home is higher (21.3% against 12.6% of men).
Overall, men seem to have suffered most from the consequences of working from home, in terms of relationships and career: the weakening of working relationships “suffered” more than colleagues (in 52.4% of cases against 45.7% of women), marginalization with respect to company dynamics (51.1% against 40.9% of women). At the same time, working from home has led them to be more productive and concentrated (46.8% against 35.6% of women) although also more exposed to health risks as more than half complain of problems after one year. physicists of various kinds.
And if on the issue of reconciliation men and women express an equal positive opinion, the latter, accustomed to more defined boundaries between work and family, have instead suffered from the lengthening of working times (57% versus 50.5% of men), the inadequacy of home work spaces (42.1% versus 37.9% of men) and highlighted a greater risk of disaffection with respect to work: they are 44.3% to complain, after a year, of a greater detachment from work.
Confirming the homogeneous trend of assessments, in both groups the share of those who would like to return to the office fluctuates around the average. However, among men it is higher than those who would be willing to change jobs or reduce income in order to continue working from home, respectively 18.7% against 13.8% of women.
There are numerous employees who report inconveniences and contraindications, starting with the expansion of working times, which in the new space-time logic, end up overlapping with domestic and private ones: 53.1% of those who work from home complain about it. The loss of presence as a “meter” of work then, if on the one hand inevitably leads to a greater concentration on results, on the other it increases stress and performance anxiety, together with the workload (49.7%).
But also the distortion of relationships with colleagues, bosses, customers, based on physical distancing, in the long run has counterproductive effects for about one worker out of two. In fact, 49.7% reported the worsening of the climate in the company, the weakening of working relationships; 47% feel marginalized with respect to the dynamics of organizations, while about 40% begin to report real disaffection towards work.
Finally, about a third (33%) declared that remote work is penalizing one’s career and professional growth. Lastly, there is no shortage of problems caused by the new headquarters: the house. After a year of home working, 48.3% of workers register physical ailments linked to the inadequacy of domestic workstations, chairs and desks, most of the time improvised; while 39.6% complain about the inadequacy of spaces or infrastructures, such as network connections.
Even with respect to age, there are interesting differences. The most satisfied are the 35-44 year-olds (58% expressed in this sense), while in the more extreme age groups, this drops to 48.6% among the over 55 and 47% among young people, where, however, there is a more marked polarization between those who are very satisfied and not at all (19.4% against 24%). Workers under the age of 35 are those who have interpreted the new work model in a more integral way, making the most of its opportunities but also experiencing the negative effects more intensely.
For them, smart working represented more than all the others, the opportunity to reconcile work with private life (66.1%): almost half (48.5%) worked, even if for short periods, in places other than the home, while 37.1% were able to spend periods with distant family and friends. But they are also those for whom smart working is giving shape to new life projects: 28.4% have changed or are thinking of changing cities, while 37.1% intend to change homes. In general, they are also those who have saved the least with smart working: only 53.8% saw a reduction in expenses for travel, food and accommodation. At the same time, however, they are the group that seems to have suffered most from the fallout at work.
Less involved in the positive aspects (few have seen their technological skills grow, presumably already high; just as few increase responsibility and autonomy), are those who report more frequently (59.2%) increased workload and performance stress, marginalization with respect to company dynamics (56.6%) and more generally boredom and disaffection with work.
They are also those who have suffered the most from the physical consequences of remote work, complaining more frequently than other groups (53.6%) of physical problems deriving from the inadequacy of the workstations. Whether it is giving work a less central role or believing in a more sustainable lifestyle, more than one third (34%) of young people currently in smart working do not intend to “go back”. Only 21% (against 51.5% of over 54s) would be happy to go back to work in the office, while 45% would be forced to accept.
The starting family conditions are also decisive. Single parents and singles tend to be more satisfied with working from home, while among those who live in couples, the discriminating factor is represented by children: those without, definitely appreciate smart working, while for those who have them the judgment is much more negative. Only 55.2% declare that they have better reconciled work and family (compared to 77.2% of couples without children). On the other hand, as many as 43% declare that this aspect has worsened.
At the same time they have seen working times expand beyond measure (60.7% against 40.2% of those who live in couples without children), suffered greater inconvenience due to the inadequacy of spaces and domestic infrastructures (44.7% against 23.3%), weaken working relationships (56.5% against 41.2%).
Unlike their childless counterparts, they have not benefited greatly from smart working: indeed, many have seen family relationships deteriorate (25%), and more than a third (38.6%) have cut expenses for home helps, carers and baby-sitter, taking on, in addition to work and family, an extra burden of domestic duties, traditionally entrusted to the outside world.
In this segment, more than half of the workers would be happy to be back in attendance (51.8%): a value far above that of those who live in couples, but without children, where the share of those who would like to return to the office is 29.1%. Among the latter, on the other hand, more than a quarter (26.1%) would be willing to do anything to maintain their status as a smart worker.
Lastly, it should be highlighted that the hybrid model, towards which many companies are directing their organizational choices, is the solution that is less successful: if among those who work permanently remotely – and above all they have been doing so since before the outbreak of the pandemic – the percentage of satisfied amounts to 57.7%, among those who work in alternating mode it drops to 46.9%, and the level of dissatisfaction (20.7% of “hybrid” smart workers are considered not at all happy with the situation compared to 13.3% of permanent workers).
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