Up to 74% of respondents are in favor of working from home, survey

200 Executives and 800 Employees spoke about their experiences of working remotely at the time of the Coronavirus.

Mohamed Elkholi: Remote work is more positive, and it is imperative to prepare for the continuation of the Coronavirus.

According to Mohamed Elkholi, Member of the EJB and Founder of DOTMENT, (an employee engagement and internal communications consultancy firm), in the upcoming period, which may involve working under coronavirus measures and the repercussions of its continuation for an unknown period of time, there is an urgent need to reimagine the workforce during the post-pandemic phase.

The main aim is to promote the work culture and provide supply chain recovery during the times of the coronavirus and to prepare for current and future plans.

Most companies in Egypt and abroad have worked strenuously to meet the basic needs of their employees in terms of safety, stability, and security during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis. However, with organizations entering the next stages, these needs continuously evolve and call for a more complex approach.

 Elkholi, talked about a questionnaire that has been distributed to more than 800 employee managers and more than 200 executives in different companies and institutions across Egypt and Middle Eastern countries.

These companies and institutions belong to different industrial and investment sectors, such as agriculture, industry, services, communications, tourism, and real estate.

This survey targeted a variety of topics related to employees’ experiences. The results of this survey revealed that employees who work remotely perceive more positive effects in their daily work, are more interactive, and have a stronger sense of well-being than those whose jobs are less flexible. The results also showed that fathers who work from home are better off than those who are more isolated from their families.

According to Elkholi, this questionnaire contradicts a fundamental truth about employees’ experiences. Even under similar circumstances, more than 80% of the respondents indicated that the crisis has affected their daily working lives, since people usually have widely varying experiences, perspectives, and results.

He further added that the phase of naturally returning to work provides an opportunity for companies to rethink their employees’ experiences in ways that respect individual differences (home life, skills and abilities, mentalities, personal characteristics, etc.), while at the same time adapting to the rapidly changing circumstances.

The survey results revealed three comprehensive visions, each coupled with practical steps that leaders can take to support their employees during the next phase of the crisis.

These steps ensure that the leaders implement sweeping changes to meet their employees’ most urgent needs. Elkholi further stressed that building a sense of trust and belonging through continued presence, action-oriented measures, compassion, and full transparency is of paramount importance in the future.

The questionnaire also stressed the provision of the basic needs of safety and security and the need for stronger relationships and social cohesion, guaranteeing employee welfare and work effectiveness.

With the potential measures taken to ensure safety and security amid the pandemic, Elkholi stressed that there is a need to demonstrate compassionate leadership, to focus on making a positive difference in people’s lives by exhibiting awareness and compassion, and to be deliberately calm with limited optimism in the field of communication, in which leaders need to strike the right balance.

It is also important to realize the upcoming challenges and to be confident in the organization’s ability to find its way through the crisis, while at the same time investing in relationships, maintaining trust, and recognizing the efforts of employees, in order to improve employee engagement, welfare, and effectiveness.

 It should also be emphasized that companies that have been building social capital before the crisis will be in a better position compared to other companies when the work conditions start returning to normal.

Elkholi further stated that the survey touched on possible measures that can be taken to build a culture that ensures the creation of a network of teams. According to the survey participants, it is important to create a network of teams to promote cross-functional cooperation and transparency.

Having a team structure can help quickly address the most pressing problems of companies, while strengthening the power of random connections across the network to build an effective team.

This can also help cultivate a culture of inclusion and psychological integrity and help create inclusive and psychologically safe group environments by modeling behaviors that value the inputs of all members, encourage individuality, and allow individuals to experiment without fear of negative consequences.

The survey results revealed that 74% of parents who work from home report a positive work environment, that 63.2% feel connected, and that 70.5% enjoy a positive state of wellbeing, in contrast to those who have less flexible jobs.

 Among those with less flexible jobs, however, according to the survey results, 70.5% reported a negative work environment, 50.4% felt disengaged, and 57.6% stated that they were suffering.

In summary, during the current crisis, it can be observed that employees who cannot work remotely usually face more distinct challenges than those who work remotely.