The trend to reconcile face-to-face and remote work is unstoppable, but it is not always possible. There are sectors where it has a place in middle or upper management, but not at the operational level; in construction there is plastering to be done, ships need fishermen, in agriculture there is harvesting to be done. Although many processes are automated, there are tasks that today require human hands.
The wage level is another indicator since there is a correlation between the wage level and the possibility of teleworking. In addition, the same relationship holds with the level of education: in the United Kingdom, 73% of those earning more than 50,000 pounds a year were able to work from home in times of pandemic, a percentage that fell to 12% among those whose salary does not exceed 10,000 pounds a year. Today, in the same country, the average number of employees who have been able to work remotely is 38%.
On the other hand, in addition to the objective causes mentioned above, it is curious to note in some studies how the hybrid work option is not perceived in the same way depending on the age range. While all groups agree that they perform their tasks more efficiently and that it has improved their well-being, the work-life balance is appreciated in different ways.
Young people between the ages of 16 and 29 find it more difficult to find a balance between their personal and professional lives, possibly because they have a greater need for relationships and require more collaboration with other colleagues to carry out their tasks and train on a daily basis. However, from the age of 50 onwards, there is unanimous agreement that they find it much easier to reconcile work and family life thanks to hybrid work, preferring in many cases to telework full time when they have the choice. This contrasts, however, with the choice of telework by 96% of Vodafone Spain’s workforce and 81% of Telefónica Spain’s employees.
Employees and companies are still discovering the benefits of this work model with truly clear benefits for employee motivation and consequently their commitment and performance. Thus, with the vacation period approaching, workers’ representatives are asking for teleworking from the place of vacation, with the clear objective that parents and children can spend more time together during the summer. But no doubt telework will continue to unveil many other advantages. We will see it at the end of the summer, with the arrival of the cold weather. The energy crisis will force many countries to reduce oil and gas consumption, and what could be more efficient than reducing travel? In case anyone has already forgotten, the data on the extent of this reduction is available from April to June 2020, during the shutdown caused by the pandemic.
Beyond objective causes or personal appreciations, hybrid work is here to stay. The automation of processes through algorithms that mark the objectives to be achieved by the employee indicates the same trend.
Nubeprint’s pioneering App also facilitates remote work thanks to the fact that anyone who needs to print or scan documents will always have the consumable ready: by simply downloading the app on the cell phone, the printer will be monitored by the usual ink or toner supplier, and the teleworker will receive the cartridge at home.
Source: Cincodias.elpais / Nubeprint
