- Survey finds significant disconnects remain between employers and employees over flexible work options
- Research firm warns that companies that fail to address such divides are more likely to put themselves at a competitive disadvantage
- Split is most apparent in areas such as whether the company acts in employees’ best interests and whether the company supports a culture of flexibility
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Significant disconnects remain between how business executives view their company’s flexible work arrangements and other shifts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and how employees perceive them, according to recent research by the research and advisory company Gartner Inc.
The 2021 Gartner Hybrid Work Employee Survey polled 4,000 employees in January 2021 to identify major differences with company leaders. Gartner says businesses that fail to address these divides as they pursue expanded remote work or hybrid schedule options are more likely to put themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
Key findings of the survey include:
- 69 percent of executives thought the business’s senior leadership acted in the best interests of its employees, while just 41 percent of employees felt the same
- While three-quarters of executives thought they took employee perspectives into consideration before making decisions, only 47 percent agreed
- 75 percent of executives thought their workplace already supports a culture of flexibility, compared to just 57 percent of employees who believed there was a culture supportive of flexible work
- The narrowest divide involved trust, with 70 percent of executives and 58 percent of employees agreeing that their organization trusted employees to work remotely
