Due to Corona, many people have to work from home. Many people don't mind, as a recent survey shows.
The corona pandemic has transformed Austria into a country of home offices. Around 42% of employees state that they worked from home in 2020. This was more often the case with high educational qualifications (68%) and younger employees. While 54% of the under 30-year-olds worked at least partially in the home office, the figure was 35% for those over 50. That comes from a Gallup poll.
Above all, those surveyed would like to see more room to maneuver in the future when it comes to the organization of their work: 79% support more flexible working hours, 55% “hybrid” work (partly in the home office and partly at the previous place of work). Only 26% of Austrian employees want to work exclusively from home, 50% are in favor of face-to-face work. The acceptance of mobile working models is particularly high among young employees: 71% of those under 30 can imagine hybrid work, 40% pure home office.
The attractiveness of a work model is clearly related to experiences during the crisis: 84% of employees who worked partly in the home office and partly at the previous place of work would like this solution for the future. Pure home working, on the other hand, is particularly attractive to those who only work at home (64%).
“As in other areas of life, the Corona crisis has also accelerated the existing trends in the world of work. 'New Work' has become a reality and seems to be increasingly gaining acceptance as the ideal model of the future. Home office alone is not a panacea, especially human interaction is missing in the team. Rather, it is a matter of enabling the individually correct combination between remote work and workplace presence as well as more flexibility in working hours “, says the head of the Gallup Institute, Andrea Fronaschütz.
In an industry comparison, retail stands out particularly positively in the year-back look. Those who work in retail particularly appreciate the support and help from their employer. They are also very much of the opinion that the companies have promoted a sense of community, assumed social responsibility and exemplified corresponding values.
Commercial employees are also more willing to recommend them than employees in most other sectors and would reapply to their employer more often. “The executives in retail apparently did a good job during the crisis months”, Andrea Fronaschütz comments on these results. The assessments of employees in the health and care sector, who were also very challenged last year, tend to be below average.
The working conditions during the crisis have left their mark on employers' perception: 21% of those surveyed see their employer more positively and feel more connected to it than before the crisis, 16% have a worse opinion of their employer and feel less connected to it. Employees who at least partially work in the home office judge this more positively than those with less work flexibility.
