New research from Microsoft suggests that almost half of workers globally are already considering a job move now that remote working is possible.
As many people pass the one-year mark of remote working and gear up for potentially another year of the same, new research from Microsoft suggests that the majority of people want a flexible way of working to remain.
The tech giant’s annual global Work Trends Index found that 73pc of global employees surveyed want remote working options to continue.
More than 40pc of the workforce would consider leaving their current employer if these options were not provided, while 46pc said they are planning to move jobs within the year now that they can work remotely.
However, while remote working might be here to stay, the index also highlighted the challenges that come with this shift.
According to the survey, 54pc of employees feel overworked and 39pc feel exhausted as time spent in meetings has more than doubled globally and more than 40bn more emails were delivered in the month of February this year compared to the same period last year.
In Ireland, Microsoft surveyed more than 1,000 people in February 2021. The vast majority (82pc) of respondents said they wanted a better work-life balance, 76pc wanted to disconnect once the working day was over, and 65pc wanted to reduce the number of virtual meetings they had to attend every day.
The survey also highlighted a drop in landline and mobile phone usage due to remote working. Aisling Curtis, commercial director of Microsoft Ireland, noted that traditional tools are being replaced in favour of real-time collaboration tools.
“Senior leaders need to be careful, as we move towards a new hybrid world of work, that they establish a culture that allows all their employees to continue to innovate and collaborate, while also providing the flexibility to disconnect when and where they need to,” she said.
Last week, Microsoft executive vice-president Kurt DelBene published a blog post detailing the company’s vision for hybrid working in its own operations going forward.
