Supporting thriving employees in remote workplaces

Remote work became a norm during the pandemic, but it was not without its challenges. While offering benefits like flexibility and inclusivity, remote work also presented issues with collaboration and communication.

However, a study titled What Makes Some Workplaces More Favourable to Remote Work? Unpacking Employee Experiences During COVID-19 via Glassdoor by Munmun De Choudhury, Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has identified the key factors that make remote work successful. Using data from Glassdoor, the study found that organisations catering to employee interests, promoting independence, fostering collaboration, and implementing flexible policies were more likely to have strong remote workplaces.

The study further categorised organisational culture into 41 dimensions across seven subgroups, namely interests, work values, work activities, social skills, job structural characteristics, work styles, and interpersonal relationships. It was found that organisations that empower employees to pursue their goals, fostered a collaborative environment, and offered flexible work arrangements were viewed more favourably. On the other hand, organisations with toxic cultures that failed to promote diversity and respect faced challenges in remote work adoption.

READ MORE: Why organisations should not dismiss Gen Zs’ desire for remote work

“There are a lot of reports of quiet quitting and the great resignation because millennials or Gen Z value culture a lot, in contrast to previous generations like Baby Boomers, for whom job satisfaction was largely about compensation. Younger generations might say they’re ok with an average salary if they have that flexibility in work hours, and that’s what makes these organisations more favourable to remote work,” De Choudhury concluded, reported Phys.org.