Welcome to the latest WorkSpace Connect News Wrap, our periodic recap of the news related to the modern workplace, the professionals that make it happen, and the products and services that enable it. In this edition, we look at the emotional impact remote work is having on employees, recruiters, and the larger job market. Then, we explore a new small-business managed communications solution from Kinetic.
WorkHuman: Hybrid & Remote Workers Are Feeling Disconnected, Pressured
The workplace productivity platform released the research report,
Two Years into COVID: The State of Human Connection at Work, and shared the emotional impact that two years of remote or hybrid work has had on the workforce. "Workhuman’s research, based on findings from a survey of 2,268 full-time workers across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Ireland, found that both hybrid and on-site workers do feel a stronger sense of connection to colleagues and to their company culture – thanks to at least some face-to-face interaction – than fully remote workers,"
the company reported in a statement.
Working remotely appears to have negative impacts on worker well-being. According to WorkHuman's research, 38% of fully remote workers were more likely to feel uneasy about workplace changes compared to 27% of on-site workers. They also feel more obligated to work while sick: 52% of hybrid workers and 44% of remote workers said they feel obligated to work while sick.
WorkHuman also found that 49% of employees reported having too much to do in the past year, and the burnout is prompting 36% of workers to start job-hunting this year. The impact is even higher for people who switched jobs in the COVID era: 50% of workers surveyed say they plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months. The report also found that employees hired during the pandemic experience higher levels of burnout, feel even more overworked, and are less psychologically safe than their more tenured colleagues.
Highly skilled tech workers, for the most part, are not leaving the workplace — the money right now is simply too good (salaries have risen in some cities by as much as 10 percent). They are, however, leaving the workspace, in droves, to work remotely, which is another aspect of the new world of work that recruiters need to communicate to founders and chief executives, some of whom are intent on getting the office back to what it once was.
Recruiters say that they're working to slowly adjust top-level management to the reality that the market is currently composed of workers who can pick and choose where to work, both in terms of employers and office locations.
Kinetic Business Launches Communication Solution for Small Businesses
“Businesses of all sizes across our 18-state footprint count on Kinetic Business for affordable, reliable and quality communications solutions,” said Mark Lederman, vice president of Kinetic product marketing. “OfficeSuite UC has been a successful solution for many business customers, allowing their employees to stay connected and collaborate even while working remotely, maintaining business continuity. We are proud to bring a similar solution to our small business customers.”
