Working from home has become the new norm in less than 24 months as more than 42% of the American Labor Force currently works full time from home. This work-from-home revolution has been spurred on by many acknowledging the positives of remote work. 68% of employees believe there are less interruptions working at home while 64% are still able to feel motivated to do their work. Remote work has also boosted job satisfaction by 57% and reduced the total workforce losing time on the roads by 18%. Work-from-home employers have expressed benefits as well in the form of money saved through reduced overhead expenses. Trusting the remote workforce is everything.
Trust Issues are Real
Although there are several benefits of working remotely for both employers and employees, trust has become a growing problem. 41% of employers are concerned about the work ethic of their employees while 48% of employees believe levels of trust have changed since the start of the pandemic. With growing lack of trust, employers tried to combat the issue by enforcing more micromanagement, but this has led to more problems for both employers and employees working from home. 71% of employees are seeing micromanagement negatively impacting their work with one in five employees believing that micromanagement is the toughest part of working from home. With employers, 50% saw a decrease in productivity and 33% more of their annual salary being spent to replace employees.
Learning to Trust the Remote Workforce
However, several companies are working to better trust work-from-home employees, through ways such as encouraging productivity instead of focusing on the hours for better engagement and urging employees to practice self-care outside and during work. Employers are also using AI programs to optimize working from home without utilizing micromanagement by assisting with important management practices like preparing timesheets and organizing work schedules. Four in five employees have even stated that AI enhances their overall job performance.
By working to build trust between employers and remote employees without resorting to micromanagement, concerns can be replaced by better quality work from everyone. Learn more about trusting the remote workforce in the infographic below:
Source: TrackTime24.com