Sursa foto: Unsplash
The option of working from home becomes a decisive element in the choice of the next career destination for three quarters of Romanian employees, according to the EY Romania study “Work in new conditions”, conducted between June and July 2021, which surveyed the opinions of 542 Romanian employees in various sectors of activity.
These results add to those highlighted in the EY global study “Work Reimagined”, which showed that more than half of employees worldwide would quit if they were not offered flexibility after the pandemic.
“Discussions in the public space, but also within individual companies, show that the question about the future of work has moved from “When do we go back to the office?” to “What is the new definition of effective work?”. In a context where employees who work from home believe they achieve the same results as those in the office, the new challenge for employers becomes to smooth this path by providing administrative support and identifying the optimal moments of organizational reunion needed to maintain the cultural bond”, says Horațiu Cocheci, Director, People Advisory Services, EY Romania.
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Looking back at telework
According to the survey data, working from home was not a common way of working in Romania in the run-up to the pandemic and was viewed with distrust by companies – 48% of respondents had never used telework in their professional relationships.
The biggest challenge for employees who worked from home was managing their working hours and actual hours worked: 38% of the survey participants said they worked longer hours during the pandemic, and 54% changed their traditional working hours in various ways.
However, 68% of respondents felt that the facilities they had during the period of working from home were sufficient. In terms of carrying out work tasks, 73% of respondents are confident and very confident that the tasks they received were carried out to the level required by their employers.
“To ensure the sustainability of the new reality, it is incumbent on companies to remove the excess, compensatory work required at the beginning of the health crisis to achieve desired results. Investing in relevant technologies and rewriting processes will maintain employees’ confidence in their activities, while at the same time eliminating overtime worked,” warns Horațiu Cocheci, Director, People Advisory Services, EY Romania.
Benefits and challenges of working from home
Work-life imbalance stands out as the main risk of working from home, with 24% of respondents highlighting this situation. Next on the podium of telework challenges are poor collaboration and ineffective communication, both reported by 14% of participants.
In terms of the benefits of working from home, the elimination of transport costs ranks first and is mentioned by 23% of respondents, while 16% and 14% of participants respectively say that they have identified more efficient ways of doing work and that they have focused better from home.
Looking ahead: working from home and employee engagement
The data collected highlights a high proportion of employees’ desire to continue working in a hybrid way: 49% of respondents say they want to work from home a few days a week, while 21% want to work from home all the time.
A first step in this direction seems to have already been taken: 62% of respondents say that their direct management encourages working from home.
On the other hand, 32% of employees whose organizations or direct bosses will not allow hybrid working say they are willing to leave their current companies as soon as the situation demands it.
Moreover, the views expressed suggest that the option of working from home will become increasingly important in choosing a new job: 72% of EY survey respondents say that their next career destination will be fundamentally influenced by the possibility of working from home.