ATTITUDE DISCREPANCIES

WHAT: In many attitude measurements made in 2020 and 2021 regarding employees’ wishes about their work, the discrepancy between managers’ and employees’ attitude to continued teleworking reappears: employees want continued flexibility to a greater extent than managers want. In the report “Attitudes in a new era”, the survey among 366 surveyed managers showed that 71% wanted the staff to return to the office, while more than 90% of employees wanted to be able to continue to choose for themselves. In Iceland, where a goal was introduced in 2017 that 10% of government services would be advertised remotely, over 70% of managers believed that the goal set for 2024 would not be achievable in their organization.

SO WHAT: This is an equation that, combined with the lack of manpower, affects the room for maneuver for employers when it comes to how to relate to telework and financial aspects of telecommuting. Companies need to take a stand on this issue, and they need to do a proper screening of their own business to find an approach that suits them.