Workplace reports show that the gap in attitudes between employees and employees is growing

Business leaders and employees disagree significantly about the future of the job. The latest report on workplace trends relates to several previous accounts of office returns to concerns and assumptions about technology issues for people working remotely.

A report by business solutions and technology firm NTT published Nov. 9 shows a significant gap between what organizations see as the future of work and what employees really want.

NTT research shows that business leaders are significantly more satisfied with how they have adjusted to the new work rules than their employees. The report points to the need for more insight into the organization on how employees reassess what they need from their workplace.

The 2021 edition of the Global Workplace Report provides insight into the future of work as businesses around the world prepare for post-pandemic realities. The results reflected 1,146 interviews across 23 countries that showed an almost universal consensus that working remotely causes difficulties.

The majority of the company’s executives and employees – 82 and 81% of respondents – said that it challenged the organization’s performance and challenged its employees. Meanwhile, a smaller percentage (63%) of HR managers (CHRO) say employee happiness has deteriorated during the pandemic.

Employees don’t pay too much attention to remote work.

The study also showed disparities between executives and workers in their preferences for working remotely. For example, 84% of organizations believe that employees prefer to work remotely. This finding contradicts the belief that employees prefer to work remotely. The employee’s responses showed that only 30% preferred to work from home full-time.

Update | December 7, 2021
NTT clarified its initial press release by telling the ECT News Network that when offered the option of working from home, in combination or in the office, employees were divided relatively evenly between the three categories, at 30%, 30% and 39%. correspond. This finding contradicts the belief shared by 79% of organizations that employees prefer to work in the office, when in fact, VoE data shows that only 39% of employees want to work full-time in the office.

That contrast continues to relate to the environment around the office. A near-complete majority (95%) of CEOs and CHRO agree that workplace design is a key pillar of their sustainability agenda. But 41% of CEOs are more likely than executives to be satisfied with the employee’s ability to experience in their organization.

“At the moment, reporting is all about remote work. But the reality of employee needs is much more complex, and any failure to accurately assess and respond to that reality poses a serious risk to organizations,” said Alex Bennett, Global Senior Vice President for Workplace Experience Practices and Employees at NTT.

He noted that these are not gentle hobbies. The report found that work-life balance and commute time are now the two biggest factors people consider when deciding where to work.

“So well implementing the strategy of the workforce and workplace would be a real competitive advantage,” he suggested.

The future of work is reassessed.

The Global Workplace Report, one of the most comprehensive and data-driven studies on the future of work to date, has uncovered a number of interesting topics:

What employees really want is flexibility and support. The top four strategies adopted to meet the needs of the modern workforce are flexible working hours, health, remote/combined workstations, and improving the work environment.
Two-thirds of employees say they are not equipped with all the tools needed to work from home, but more than half (55 percent) of organizations say they are very satisfied that they are ready for the combined work.
Nine out of 10 people no longer consider the workplace to be a material work. But only half (54 percent) of organizations can identify and agree on their future workplace strategies.
Employee experience disconnection (EX) is real. Employee health and well-being are the number one factors driving the overall employee experience, but employers and employees don’t see each other.

The majority (91%) of businesses recognize the value of EX as an important strategy or differentiator. But only 23 percent of employees are very satisfied working for their employer. Only 38% say their employers take their health and well-being seriously.

Wide cognitive distance

Widespread awareness of the problem does not always translate into a realistic assessment of organizational competence. Compared to operating employees, CEOs are 20 percentage points more likely to believe that their organization manages working hours very effectively.

Executives are more likely to believe they are effective at preventing burnout than 28 points. Even more CEOs are 41 points more likely to be satisfied with their organization’s employee experience (EX) capacity, according to the study.

This cognitive gap reflects an employee’s serious lack of confidence. Only 38% said their employers took their health and well-being seriously. Only 23% said they were happy to work for their employer.

Fundamental to the satisfaction gap between bosses and employees, research shows a significant degree of diversity in employees’ attitudes toward their future work preferences.

For example, the data shows that employees are divided relatively evenly when offered the option of arranging to work from home, in combination, or at the office. The low profit margin is 30% for the first two options and 39% for the third option.

The study also found trends that showed that many drivers influenced the reassessment of employees’ job needs. For example, 41% of workers between the ages of 18 and 29 would love to work at the office. This compares to 30% of those over the age of 50.

Deeper awareness

According to the report, a clear view of employees’ prospects is harder to see because companies lack thorough data and collect insights. Those results are based on employee voice data (VoE).

In terms of data priorities, more than half (52%) of businesses report VoE as the top focus. Workplace analysis came in second, two points higher.

Meanwhile, only 39% of organizations have structured and almost similar VoE programs (37%) using real-time psychological analysis. That compares with 54% of organizations that use employee surveys.

Research also indicates that using these types of data to improve an organization’s EX needs to go much further than improving the quality of everyday life. For example, at 40%, the purpose and value of a company is now the third most important factor for choosing a workplace.

In this area, both employees and business leaders agree. Almost all (89%) agree that environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals are central to the organization’s agenda.

NTT’s Bennet sees this as a call to move from interested in action to caring about outcomes. What matters is not what the organization does to improve the workplace. Instead, think about how it actually benefits the workforce.

“An organization can’t know that without a masterful approach to measuring employee emotions. Surprisingly, two-thirds of employees say they are not equipped with all the tools needed to work from home, and 55% of organizations say they are very satisfied that they are ready for the combined work,” he commented.

However, 85% of organizations plan to reshape their office space over the next 12 months to foster an environment of innovation and social connectivity. Clearly, to some extent, there is a perception that immature workforce strategies will lead to employee discontent.

“That work should be guided by what people really need,” he urged.

Change of mindset

Bennett said companies need to change their thought processes from action to results. The key factor is not what companies do to improve the workplace.

Instead, how the changes benefit the new workforce really matters. An organization can’t know that without a masterful approach to measuring employee emotions.

“It’s clear, to some extent, that people are aware that incomplete workforce strategies will lead to employee dissatisfaction and that the work has to be led by what people really need,” Bennet said.

Conclusion drawn

Darryl Wilson, vice president of solutions and service architecture – commented by Darryl Wilson, vice president of solutions and service architecture – managed collaborative services for the NTT Americas Division.

Businesses that have been on their journey have reacted while those sweating IT assets without investing in digital transformation have had more difficulty pivoting.

“However, what surprised me from the data was the apparent disconnect between the CEO/CEO in terms of their preparedness versus the teams in the operation that had to implement this digital transformation program and the fact that a significant number of users (61%) still don’t ‘ I don’t believe they have the main technology. The body was at home,” he told izokr.com.

Organizations must address the needs of employees remotely and in combination for technology that is not present in the office, he continued. They need a interconnected technology platform to support the workplace and employees combined. That need cuts across many IT sectors and cannot be considered individually.

“Our report has shown that there are still some gaps in delivering on the promise. The real challenge will be the shift from purely remote work to combined work and what that experience looks like, such as in a meeting with attendees both in the physical office and remote control,” he said.

Once the technology platform is fit for purpose, changes in culture and personnel will likely make the experience work. Focusing on employee experience and technology can develop a unique employee value proposition.

He concluded: “Companies that do the right thing can turn the negative trend of the industry into a positive and see it as an opportunity to create great traction for their business.