Loyalty from the Home Office

When most employees initially enter into flexibile work arrangements with their employers, both parties express concerns about communication, connectivity, trust, and loyalty. A recent study by the Kenexa Research Institute (KRI) shows that perhaps some of these concerns are unfounded.

Over 10,000 employees were surveyed to compile these findings, which dispel many barriers to employer adoption of telework. Namely:

KRI examined the impact of an employee’s office location on their pride in the organization, confidence in its future, willingness to recommend their organization as a place to work and overall satisfaction. Employees who work remotely or from their homes outscored those who work within the bricks and mortar on each of these key indicators. In addition, employees who work remotely or from home are more likely to say they intend to stay with their organization.

KRI found that men are more likely to work from home than women, with the typical teleworker between 36 and 45 years of age. It appears that morale, fair treatment, a sense of trust and well-being all contribute to this increase in loyalty. Said Jack Wiley, Executive Director of KRI, about the findings:

“”It is clear that with the increase in available technology, a noteworthy number of U.S. workers are telecommuting. Not only are those who telecommute more engaged than those who work in an office, they are much more likely to rate both their senior managers and their immediate managers more favorably. Managers who allow and support telecommuting enjoy a boost in employee appreciation and are seen as notably more employee-centric and competent. This represents yet another weapon in the war for talent.”

And with competition for talent increasing, employers will need to add telework to their arsenal. A recent Inflexion client expressed how telework will allow them to seek the best and brightest in their area of expertise, anywhere in the world. However, telework is not for everyone and employers and employees alike need to properly equip themselves for all considerations to ensure that the loyalty described above is, in fact, achieved.

Let’s keep the conversation going.