Remote work is becoming more contentious as employees report office tensions.
Key Details
- An online survey of 3,500 adult employees from background tech company GoodHire says that remote work is creating tension in the workplace.
- 78% of employees fear that their position puts them at greater risk of losing their job during a recession, 73% say in-office workers should be paid higher than remote, 68% fear their managers will offer preferential treatment to in-office and view remote as lazy, and 33% would quit if forced to return.
- “Tensions are brewing at work between employees who have returned to the office and those who’ve continued to work from home,” says Bloomberg.
- Generally speaking, most surveyed believe that working remotely will hurt their career.
- GoodHire also reports that the percentage of employees who prefer remote work is decreasing.
- “Apparently, Zoom fatigue is real: only 44% said that they preferred working at home—a 24% decrease from our 2021 study,” says GoodHire.
Why it’s important
Remote work continues to be a contentious topic among employers and employees alike. Recent studies from Deloitte, and WFH Research suggest that employees find remote work to be more emotionally fulfilling, productive, and convenient than working from the office.
Employers disagree. GoodHire’s study suggests that remote work will continue to be contentious and that employers will likely continue to incentivize more office mandates in the future to improve productivity and bolster company cultures.
“There are several data points in the survey that show there may be a potential for a growing conflict among these two groups… each supports the general idea that in-office workers will enjoy more benefits and career opportunities than their remote-worker counterparts,” says GoodHire COO Max Wesman.
Backing up a bit
As we previously reported, employers are nervous about how it affects productivity and company culture. AT&T and Apple have faced backlash from their staff for attempting to mandate remote workers to return to the office. Other corporations see profit incentives in remote work.
“Many corporations, especially banks, have taken a harder line on getting employees back to the office at least part-time. But data show there’s still a long way to go, particularly in big cities where many are still working remotely at least a few days during the week,” says Bloomberg.
