After this period, 43% of employees would prefer to return to the office or a hybrid work system, which would involve more office work, for increased emotional comfort and better productivity, according to a survey conducted by BestJobs during the period 4-14 of June, on a sample of 937 internet users in Romania.
Only a quarter of respondents (24%) say that they have adapted well enough emotionally and as a way of working to prefer working from home or a hybrid system that favors this way. 33% of them are still undecided.
Employee productivity is the main aspect in evaluating the most efficient way of working. Thus, 53% say they do not notice major changes from this point of view in the current work system compared to the beginning of the pandemic.
23% have adapted so well to the changes of this period that they have even managed to increase their productivity, while for 17%, this prolonged effort has had its say, including on the efficiency of their work.
Asked what most influences productivity, employees say that the pressure to cope with several tasks at the same time (23%), the unpredictable work schedule, which no longer makes it possible to delimit between personal and professional life (19%) and too much work (19%).
Productivity fluctuations are felt in the results of employee work. 22% of them confess that they allocate more time for the same volume of tasks. Another 16% of respondents feel overwhelmed and end up delaying their tasks, while 14% complain of missing or even losing customers.
Another 13% of employees notice that, due to the lack of concentration, mistakes in performing work tasks have multiplied. 12% complain that they have difficulty understanding the requirements of superiors.
Facilitating professional development in the first place in the top requirements of employers
Employees believe that the company could offer them certain benefits in order to have a better performance at work. Thus, 37% of respondents say they would need professional development training and the acquisition of new skills. 22% would enjoy a flexible schedule, while 12% would like extra days off.
For others, it would be important to receive financial support for the maintenance and supervision of children during the program (nanny, afterschool, nursery, etc.), as answered by 8% of employees surveyed, but also access to wellness services (5%) or psychological counseling (3%).
Time management and work-life balance - the main challenges during this period
The biggest challenge faced by employees is to clearly respect the time allocated to the office, so as not to interfere with personal time, as 24% of respondents said.
Another 25% of employees feel that it is difficult for them to properly manage their office time so as to avoid overloading with tasks. For 14%, the difficulty was to update their digital skills so as to cope with changes in the work environment.
They missed the meetings with the team the most
Now that work from home is no longer required and employees have the opportunity to choose, in most cases, where to work, they see that interaction with team members is very important for their mental state and they lacked this in this period (25%).
Opinions are divided when it comes to limiting to only work from home. While 9% say they have just gotten used to this way of working, 19% would not return to the office, and 11% would feel more stressed to continue like this.
Adaptability remains the basic lesson of this period
More than half of the respondents (56%) concluded that in order to survive in the current labor market, shaped by the pandemic, it is necessary to show adaptability or even the capacity for professional reinvention. 21% consider that their resistance to stress and effort was useful. 11% focus on communication and as much on digital skills. (source: BestJobs)
