Stamford-based HR firm OperationsInc said its research shows a “significant gap” remains between managers’ and workers’ expectations and desires around remote work.
A survey the company commissioned of 500 U.S. workers found that that 51 percent of workers say they want to work remotely more than they currently do and yet 56 percent expect to go into the office more frequently in the next six months. One-third said they are expecting to go back into the office or work on-site every day in that period.
At the same time, more than 75 percent of workers said that their direct supervisor has expressed that they return to the office more often, and 36 percent said that direct supervisors want employees to come into the office every day.
Meanwhile, 40 percent say they intend to look for a new job in the next six months so that they can work remotely more often or every day. Only 21 percent of those surveyed want to return to the office more frequently.
“Despite inflation and predictions of a looming recession, we see unprecedented demand for talent that likely will maintain at a high enough level through 2022 to allow for employees and job seekers to find what they want,” OperationsInc CEO David Lewis said in a statement. “Employers who choose to ignore these trends are going to lose talent and find a steep uphill battle when they try and replace them.”
Nearly half of workers surveyed said they would be willing to take a pay cut to increase or retain their flexible/remote work arrangement, with 21 percent saying that they would take a pay cut even if it was more than 5 percent of their salary.
The findings, if consistent across the Connecticut workforce, could add more fuel for calls in Stamford and Hartford to speed up the conversion of dormant office real estate to housing.
Fairfield County’s office availability rate crept up to 26.5 percent in the first quarter amid continued sluggish leasing activity and companies offering over 2.4 million square feet of office space for sublease, according to commercial real estate brokerage CBRE.
