67% of supervisors and business leaders consider remote workers more easily replaceable than onsite workers, according to a poll released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
62% believe full-time remote work is detrimental to employees’ career objectives and 72% would prefer all of their subordinates to be working in the office.
While most employees agree remote work is beneficial and increases performance, more than half say working remotely on a permanent basis would diminish networking opportunities (59%), cause work relationships to suffer (55%) and require them to work more hours (54%).
SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr, said: “With Covid-19 forcing a leap to remote work in many sectors of our economy, and organizations struggling to determine the best workforce strategies post-pandemic, there’s one fact that can’t be ignored — remote work is not ideal for everyone.
“Remote work can offer benefits, but employers need to take a closer look at whether remote and onsite workers have the same opportunities and whether managers have the tools they need to be effective leaders.”
Other key findings from SHRM’s surveys of supervisors and workers include:
- 51% of remote workers say they spent between $100 and $499 on equipment or furniture needed to work remotely
- 61% of remote workers who spent money on equipment or furniture paid for it out of pocket
- 67% of supervisors say they spend more time supervising remote workers than onsite workers
- 42% of supervisors say they sometimes forget about remote workers when assigning tasks
- 34% of remote workers say working remotely on a permanent basis would reduce the number of career opportunities available
- 29% of remote workers say they will have fewer developmental opportunities while working remotely
A sample of 817 supervisors was surveyed online from July 16 to July 19; a sample of 1,004 working Americans were surveyed online during the same period. A sample of 1,500 women who work remotely was surveyed online June 16 to July 18. Respondents were sourced from Lucid.
