Working from Home Drives Employee Happiness: Hibob Survey

People management platform Hibob unveils the results of its latest workplace study, showing a majority of U.S. workers’ job satisfaction is back to pre-pandemic levels.

With ongoing remote work, the allowance of flexible work schedules, the ability to be autonomously productive and time saved without a commute are contributing and shaping the next normal where a hybrid working model leads the way.

The study also showed that with strong job satisfaction while remote, the rollout of the vaccine will not prompt employees to run back to the office five days a week. Some even say an obligation to return to a physical workspace would push them to look for a new job.

When surveyed about overall job satisfaction, 62 percent of individual contributors, 66 percent of middle managers and 79 percent of senior managers answered they were presently highly satisfied with their jobs. Similarly pre-pandemic, 68 percent of individual contributors, 68 percent of middle managers and 80 percent of senior managers reported being highly satisfied with their jobs.

Only 10 percent of employees surveyed want to return to the office full time, showing that flexibility to work from anywhere is key.

Seventy-three percent of managers said two or three days in the office and the rest working from home would be the preferred hybrid work model, while 54 percent of individual contributors preferred either a flexible two to three days a week or an “at-will” hybrid model.

Additionally, data reveal parents and working females preferred working from home at higher rates, as it allows for more time with family and flexibility with childcare.

Women are enjoying working from home more than men; 65 percent of respondents who preferred a permanent five-day work from home model were female.

The survey found that 35 percent of senior managers enjoyed “flexibility with family time” as the best benefit to working from home, compared to 42 percent of individual contributors who felt that eliminating the commute was the biggest benefit.

Of parents with children under the age of 18, 84 percent found that benefits of a hybrid/remote work module outweighed the cons.

A forced return to work is a controversial idea, especially for working parents; employees with children are twice as likely to quit and look for a new opportunity if forced to return to an office full-time as those without children.

Nearly one-third of individual contributors (30 percent) ranked socialization as the most important purpose of the office.

Managers felt that collaboration is the most important purpose of the physical office with 37 percent of senior managers and 36 percent of middle managers feeling this way.

Data prove that flexibility is key to employee success. Even with vaccines helping mitigate safety concerns, they are not a reason for pushing fully in-person work five days a week given the proven success of hybrid.

Those in senior positions skewed more towards advocating for the vaccine and returning to the office. In fact, half of senior managers prefer to require all team members to get the vaccine before coming back to the office, whereas only 26 percent of individual contributors and middle managers feel this way.

More than half of individual contributors (58 percent) stated that they expect their company not to take any stance on people getting vaccinated.

In general, more men felt strongly that companies should require all employees to get vaccinated.

Vaccination expectations and protocol are going to be difficult to streamline and implement in a way that appeals to all employees Everyone has a different view on what should and shouldn’t be allowed, and it’s clear that a mandate won’t placate employee concerns and offer the best solution for work/life balance and job satisfaction.