Multiple studies find remote work improves workplace relations
LONDON, ENGLAND — A new study has found that remote work can actually improve company culture rather than harm it, making another case for the sustained benefits of remote jobs.
Some companies that resisted remote work did so out of the fear that it would disrupt company culture, harm collaboration and make workers feel isolated.
Some feared that remote work would make staff feel isolated but the opposite is actually true.
However, new research has found the opposite is actually the case.
Future Forum describes itself as “a consortium focused on building a way of working that is flexible, inclusive and connected”.
For its recently released Pulse Report for 2022, the group surveyed some 10,766 full-time workers in several countries across four continents.
Most workers who participated in the survey were in various IT-related positions, or other “skilled office work”. But Future Forum also surveyed management, ranging from junior managers all the way up to CEOs.
In the UK specifically, the survey found that fewer people are working in office full-time than the global average, with most working in a hybrid format.
Improved work relations in remote jobs
According to Future Forum’s findings, “Despite concerns that flexible work damages employees’ sense of connection, new data shows that not to be true.
Remote and hybrid workers are more likely to feel connected to their peers and managers.
“Remote and hybrid workers are equally or more likely to feel connected to their immediate teams as fully in-office workers.
“Across the board, they are more likely to feel connected to their direct manager and their company’s values.”
In fact, remote and hybrid workers were 52 per cent more likely “to say their company culture has improved over the past two years compared with fully in-person workers”, Future Forum found.
“Flexible remote work policies were cited as the number one factor that has improved company culture over the past two years,” the report added.
This particular finding aligns with a similar report on company culture conducted by business software and technology company Capterra earlier this year.
Capterra found that remote jobs actually had fewer instances of toxic workplace behaviours like gossipping, nepotism, harassment, bullying and passive aggression.
Both studies add to the ever-growing list of the sustained, long-term benefits of remote work and show why it’s so popular not just in the UK but in most countries around the world.
Additionally, these findings underscore exactly how businesses can benefit from switching to remote operations.
Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via RemoteWorker.co.uk.
References:
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