Only 16% of employees would like to return to the office full time, confirming the validity of the Everywhere Workplace approach
Ivanti Inc., the automation platform that helps make every IT connection smarter and more secure, introduced the results of a new employee survey English, who underlined the good feedback obtained from the Everywhere Workplace approach. Nearly two-thirds (66%) of respondents said they would rather work remotely than receive a promotion, and nearly half (49%) said they would take a pay cut in exchange for the ability to work remotely. Further confirming the desire to work remotely, only 16% of respondents said they wanted to return to the office full time in the future.
Among the major benefits identified are stress reduction (42%), time saving (48%) and a better work-life balance (45%). On the other hand, the main concerns are linked to less physical activity during the day (40%), the absence of interactions with colleagues (44%) and spending too many hours in front of the screen (33%). Despite these critical issues, following the adoption of smart working methods, more than half of the interviewees (55%) experienced a significant improvement in their mood.
According to the survey, 39% of interviewees would prefer to work from home even after the health emergency, while 41% would prefer a combination between home and office, confirming that this flexibility can be a valid personnel selection tool for companies, while guaranteeing adequate security protocols, training and technological tools to protect against possible cyberattacks. Organizations also need to modernize their help desks to ensure remote workers receive fast, customized solutions to every IT problem.
The research then found that 23.38% of respondents contacted the help desk at least once a week, while 25.27% requested IT support one to three times a month while working remotely, underlining that the main critical issues were related to difficulty accessing company resources (20.78%), Wi-Fi problems (21.98%) and password resets (28.77%).
“Just over a year ago, the pandemic reshaped the way millions of people around the world worked, regardless of whether employers were prepared,” he said Chris Goettls, Senior Director of Product Management di Ivanti. "It's clear that many employees have found their balance in remote working environments. Entering this new 'era' of work, where we will have employees working remotely or in a hybrid mode, requires companies to implement a Zero-Trust security strategy to protect their digital assets and guarantee employees access to the data they need, wherever they are working."
Other interesting research findings include:
- 61% of UK respondents who worked remotely experienced an increase in their electricity bills. Meal costs (38%) were cited as the second largest cost incurred, followed by home office costs (31%).
- More than half of employers (56%) said employees should bear the cost of internet fees. 46% of workers say their employer should provide an office chair. Additional expenses that, according to those interviewed, should be borne by the employer are the desk (35%), the mobile phone (34%), and the landline telephone (24%).
- 42% admitted to wearing pajama bottoms during a video conference, while 34% watched TV or a movie on mute mode during a call. 28% said they had taken a shower during a call.
- 34% of respondents said they would accept a new job if they could always work remotely, while 42% would only do so part of the time. Only 9% would not be willing to accept a remote-only job.
To protect businesses in the Everywhere Workplace, a multi-layered zero-trust strategy must be adopted to implement access controls, ensure device security and protect user credentials. With Ivanti Neurons, IT teams can discover, manage, secure and service devices from a single platform, provide Zero Trust access from the cloud to the edge, and deliver a great customer experience. The platform uses automated bots capable of protecting every device and employee, everywhere. To secure digital workplaces and reduce the risk of any breaches, organizations can also implement Zero Sign-On di Ivanti: Secure, passwordless authentication for enterprise cloud services.
The findings of the Everywhere Workplace report are based on a survey conducted by Ivanti in May 2021. The survey, which took place online, used a representative sample of 1001 people aged over 18 working remotely in the UK. To view the survey results, you can download a copy who.
