Employers who have grown accustomed to flexible employment arrangements may soon face an unpleasant surprise.
On LinkedIn's behalf, a study by YouGov surveyed nearly 3,000 executives from organizations with at least 1,000 employees and at least £250 million in revenue ($288.5 million).
According to these statistics, remote job postings are declining. In India, for example, the number of remote job postings decreased by five percentage points since April, when they peaked at 20% of all job postings.
While this is still a good deal higher than pre-pandemic averages of 2%, it is still a stark contrast to what workers would like to see.
"Flexibility is an essential component of a successful work environment, enabling employees to find a balance between their professional and personal lives." - Stuart W. Crabb
Workplace flexibility is ranked as one of the most important objectives for workers after remuneration, alongside work-life balance, skills development, and compensation.
Even though the number of jobs requiring remote work has decreased in the United States, these advertisements still garner more than half of all applicants as of September.
Data shows that remote employment accounts for 14.6% of employment possibilities globally but receives 20.2% of application submissions. The number of remote jobs in India is 11.3%, while the number of resumes is 20.3%.
Remote Job Posts vs. Applications, September 2022
Why are businesses cutting back?
LinkedIn polled its users about remote employment options and found that the trend towards remote employment was correlated with the current economic environment.
As part of a survey of executives, they were asked if the Coronavirus outbreak would force their companies to adopt more flexible working practices. In response to this question, more than 68% of executives said yes.
The current economic uncertainty has resulted in corporations in all parts of the world freezing their recruitment efforts. As a result, business leaders are under tremendous pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency to pursue these goals.
Trends in workforce confidence
In the absence of an epidemic leading to a move toward flexible working and corporate wellness programs to help workers, the balance of power is now in the hands of employers.
This report also found that the current economic uncertainty adversely affects other employee benefits. In other words, 70% of CEOs agreed that skill development might need to be emphasized less in the future, and 75% said that employee well-being would likely receive less attention.
The survival of businesses depends on their ability to adapt to changing conditions. Some companies might think they can save money by reducing benefits like flexible scheduling, but they could suffer long-term consequences.
In companies that lag behind in adopting flexible and remote working, employees risk becoming demotivated and leaving for rivals who offer more attractive options. In order to survive, businesses will have to be more adaptable.
Businesses are beginning to offer a broader range of perks as a way to keep and attract workers—many still recovering from the Great Resignation. There have even been some employers who have adopted a four-day workweek.
We at TheWellnessTribe believe that businesses must be able to adapt and be flexible in order to succeed in the future.
In the long run, the winners will be those who recognize this as an opportunity, adapt and iterate, and explore new working methods.
