Workers can have more money or more happiness — but not both.
That’s according to a survey this week from Resume Builder that found that workers were less likely to be considered for promotions or raises if they did not work in the office at least part of the time — but that those remote workers were also more likely to report having good work-life balance.
Resume Builder, which surveyed 417 remote, 567 hybrid and 206 fully in-office workers, also found that more than three out of four in-office workers received a raise in 2023 — and half of them reported a raise of more than 10%. The remote contingent also saw raises, but not nearly to the same extent.
But for some workers, the price of those monetary benefits was increased stress. Forty-three percent of in-office workers said they were “very stressed,” while 30% of remote workers reported feeling that way. Hybrid workers were in the middle, with 37% reporting being very stressed. In-office workers had other problems, too, with 37% saying they were unhappy at their job, compared with 11% of those working remotely and 14% of those working a hybrid schedule.
“People want to have a say in how they work, but they don’t want to lose traction in their career,” Stacie Haller, chief career adviser at Resume Builder, told MarketWatch.
Haller stressed that the survey wasn’t a scientific one and that many factors must be taken into account when discussing happiness, stress or satisfaction at work.
For instance, many workers — such as people in the LGBTQ+ community, those with disabilities and those with children at home or other family responsibilities — saw value in workplace flexibility, Heller said.
In August, the New York Federal Reserve reported that most companies it surveyed “reported positive impacts of remote work on employee retention, and roughly half noted that offering remote work helped with recruiting.”
A September report from McKinsey & Co. found that, within a company, “thriving stars are more likely to flourish in hybrid and remote-working models than in the mostly in-person model.” The report showed that “thriving stars” — defined as the top 4% or so of employees who “bring disproportionate value to the company” — were more likely to be remote or hybrid workers.
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However, some managers continue to resist the idea that their employees are not sitting where the manager can see them, said Phil Kirschner, a senior expert at McKinsey.
“Most employers didn’t ask their employees before COVID-19 what they thought those people spending eight to 10 hours [at the office] wanted,” Kirschner said. “It didn’t always work for everybody all the time. Offices have a long way to go to make things better for employees to be in them.”
In its survey, Resume Builder found that 52% of in-office workers said they were looking for a new job, compared with 36% of remote workers. Nearly all remote workers — 93% — said they were happy with their arrangement, while 69% of hybrid workers and 35% of in-person workers said the same.
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But while developing the talents of remote workers is possible, McKinsey and Resume Builder both said that requires flexibility on the part of managers.
“For some remote workers, managers may not be helping them grow,” Haller said. Both Haller and Kirschner stressed that managers have to find ways to better identify the best talent — especially when that talent is remote.
With the Federal Reserve anticipating a U.S. unemployment rate of 4.1% at the end of next year, those looking for remote work may still have leverage.
“As much as companies say we want you all back, it’s not happening to the extent they want it to,” Haller said. “They’re losing people. You don’t want to lose your best workers because they don’t want to come to the office very day. And that’s why we’re in flux.”
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