Are Remote Workers Happier?
The remote working position is becoming increasingly common, and there have been some surveys done to answer some management questions companies have regarding this new trend. A survey by TINYpulse and employee engagement firm answers the critical questions managers need to know when hiring remote employees in their study titled, “What Leaders Need To Know About Remote Workers.”
Regarding logistics, the survey included 509 full-time remote U.S. employees, and compared their responses to benchmarks calculated from “over 200,000 employees across all work arrangements.”
Here are the answers provided by this survey:
Question: How happy are you at work?
Answer: Remote workers are happier. According to the survey, on a 1 to 10 scale, they scored 8.10, compared to all workers’ score of 7.42. Why are they happy, because they “enjoy the freedom and flexibility” than when “they are required to work remotely by their job.”
Question: How valued to you feel at work?
Remote workers feel more valued: Since they often have problems related to feelings of isolation and lack of daily contact with co-workers this answer was surprising. In response to the question, – they scored 7.75, compared to all workers’ 6.69. While remote employees do rate their “relationships with co-workers” lower than do all workers (7.88 compared to 8.47), this social drawback was still outweighed by the multiple benefits remote employees perceived.
Question: Are you more productive as a remote employee?
Answer: Remote workers — overwhelmingly — feel they’re more productive: According to the survey, 91% believe they “get more work done when working remotely,” compared to only 9% who feel they don’t.
Question What is the most essential direction remote workers need from management?
Answer: Clarification of goals and objectives. Given the distance and potential to not know exactly what employees are working on and how they’re spending their time, it’s incumbent on managers (and workers) to understand very clearly what the expectations are, and the work that must be delivered. If these expectations are completely clear and preferably mutually agreed-upon, it will help bring the entire remote working arrangement into a more explicit focus.
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