Many employees want hybrid working models, but their superiors are not convinced. They fear losing control and think that work is not being done properly within their own four walls.
Working from home has become socially acceptable due to the lockdown and most employees no longer want to do without this option. For this reason, hybrid working models that represent a mixture of on-site and remote work are being demanded more and more frequently. But while employees have already noticed many benefits, remote work is still a thorn in the side of many managers. A recent LinkedIn study in cooperation with YouGov shows that many managers do not trust employees who work from home. In this context, 2,050 executives in various countries were surveyed, 253 of whom work in companies in Germany.
Critical attitude towards remote work
A total of 37 percent of the managers from Germany surveyed by LinkedIn state that they fear negative consequences for the company if they enable their employees to work flexibly. Hardly any other country in Europe has such fears of remote work. Specifically, managers are afraid that their employees will not work in the home office (38 percent). Although the lockdowns have shown many advantages of remote work, employers lack trust in their employees. In addition, many of them seem to have a problem with the fact that they do not have complete control over the actions of their employees without face-to-face work.
But that’s not all. 74 percent of managers in Germany feel under pressure to push through new work concepts and enable flexible working. According to her, this pressure is exerted by both employees (40 percent) and management (40 percent). Simply put, this means that managers feel compelled to offer remote work – because they really don’t want to.
Managers admit a lack of trust
Managers do not doubt their own abilities. 71 percent believe they have the skills to lead their teams anywhere. The bigger problem for them are the possible risks, such as difficult communication with each other and the fear that employees might feel disadvantaged by working from home when it comes to promotions and the like. That doesn’t sound completely unreasonable at first. But the fact of the matter is that the biggest sticking point is a lack of trust: 38 percent of those surveyed admit that they don’t trust their employees. They assume that the employees would do everything in the home office except work. For this reason, 70 percent want to continue to be present at work for three to five days. Barbara WittmanCountry Manager at LinkedIn DACH, comments:
Executives in Germany must learn to trust their employees more – this is the only way they can take advantage of the opportunities that are opening up as a result of the current changes in our working world, and this is the only way they can position themselves as a sought-after employer in the competitive labor market in the long term. At the same time, this change also requires a realignment of the corporate culture to ensure that everyone in the team feels equally seen and encouraged.
Diversity yes, flexibility no
It is also particularly interesting that managers are aware of certain advantages of flexible working. 84 percent believe that hybrid working models have a positive impact on diversity in teams. In her opinion, this is mainly due to the fact that they can draw from a larger pool of applicants without being dependent on location and that more people who need flexibility, such as parents, apply. A total of 70 percent want to implement measures for more diversity in the company in the next six months – but they do not support flexible working. Prof. Dr. Oliver FalckHead of the ifo Center for Industrial Organization and New Technologies, explains:
Even before the pandemic, flexible and hybrid working models failed less because of technological or organizational obstacles and more because of rejection by superiors. The ‘home office’ option offers companies demonstrable advantages, especially in recruiting – they can expand their search radius and score points with the ever-growing group of candidates who appreciate or require flexibility. Those who return to the old status quo will have more difficulties finding new employees in the future.
But despite the reservations, at least 75 percent want to establish new ways of working. The focus is also on learning opportunities (86 percent), for example on better cooperation despite physical distance. Young employees in particular should also be encouraged, because 89 percent believe that they are particularly disadvantaged if they cannot work on site in the office. After all, this would mean that they would miss out on many learning and networking opportunities.
It is to be hoped that with these new measures, managers will also develop more trust in their employees. Because permanent distrust has a negative effect on the working atmosphere and also drives a wedge between employees and superiors. Being aware of the risks of remote work is good. In this way, preventive measures can be taken. However, managers should stop assuming that the home office is not working properly. Performance should be measured by the work done, not by location.
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