Remote work, flexible working hours … the reasons for seeing life (at work) in pink

Let us not waste our pleasure. When it comes to optimism, the planets are in tune. On the one hand, more than half (55%) of French companies consider their position “better” or “much better” than their forecasts, according to the latest report (June 2021) from insurance manager Willis Towers Watson. To the extent that a third of them plan to strengthen their recruitment plan over the next twelve months. However, staff have expressed renewed enthusiasm since they gradually returned to office last September. According to Quality of life at work and teleworking, measured by the Spinoza plant, Think Institute and Norstat, their job satisfaction has increased by 7 points since the uncertainty period before the third delivery. Their feeling of having more freedom got 12 points! The talent war has turned the balance of power in favor of assets. Review the good reasons to see life in pink in 2022.

The first one? Our relationship with work has changed dramatically with the pandemic. “Partly doing your job remotely has become the norm,” warns Luc Bretones, co-founder of NextGen Enterprise. The leaders who hoped to blow the whistle at the end of the holiday after the confinement have changed their minds. It is true that due to the lack of flexibility on the part of the employer, 25% of employees simply intend to change, warns McKinsey study, compiled in the Aneo-Holaspirit barometer New Generation Company.

Regular teleworkers – on average two days a week – are more adequate than others. “Their quality of life index at work is 7 points higher than for face-to-face employees,” emphasizes Alexandre Jost, founder of Fabrique Spinoza. They are also more productive, as Microsoft calculates on the basis of shorter travel time, flexible time and the implementation of collaboration tools. Their favorite side office? Homes, chosen by 92% of them.

With one drawback: muscle fatigue associated with the poor ergonomics of their workplace. Employers are concerned about comfort at home and have begun to offer solutions, such as Jean-Daniel Guyot, co-founder of Memo Bank, who opened a line of credit for each of its 54 employees at Fleex, an office equipment network, to set up at home.

In response to our growing desire for autonomy and well-being, some entrepreneurs are also experimenting with flexible time. This is the case of Novo Nordisk in Denmark. With this specialist in diabetes treatment, the start and end times of the day are chosen by each employee as long as it is economical for the institution. Virtuous, according to a recent study by Gartner (April 2021): companies participating in this direction see 55% of their employees become productive.

“The work, which was previously focused on the office, is now about the employees’ experience,” says Nadine Yahchouchi, M365 Director at Microsoft France. What will we look for in the company premises? Collaboration and teamwork, say 83% of respondents in the NextGen survey, informal relationships (77.5%) but also concentration for 45% of respondents. We are entering a period of customization. This mixed organization has implications for the role of the manager, who is now asked to steer according to goals and with confidence. At Aneo, a consulting firm, the manager’s activity has been disrupted by withdrawing his authority to sanction and appraisal, two jobs that are now managed by common methods. The general manager focuses on one task: to expand his teams.

Soft skills are valued more than ever. Good news because, no matter what your level of hierarchy, “we are no longer looking for you to follow a job description, outdated from day one, but for your ability to develop skills for the benefit of the team,” says Luc Bretones, according to him. . The new generation company is in a constant state of restructuring, under the encouragement of the social body. We work there in project mode, in mobile teams. We are in favor of “T-shapes”: of course with “vertical” skills, but also able to work in cross-section. What matters now for companies? Your uniqueness, even in your non-professional experience. Your reliability, “producer commitment, consequently performance”, underlines Sébastien Hébert, CEO of Balthazar, a consulting firm in management innovation.

A recent survey by the website Monster shows that 57% of recruiters want resumes that describe the applicant’s personality more. “We want to break standards,” confirms Laurent Giunta, Monster’s editor-in-chief. Critical thinking, curiosity, flexibility, adaptability are the most sought-after skills when technology suffers from rapid obsolescence and new professions are constantly emerging. “

The intake also gave us time for self-examination. Spend more time with loved ones, work outdoors, allow yourself to express your feelings even at work, do something useful for the community: “These hopes are no longer the privilege of the young generation but of all property,” says Anaïs Georgelin, founder of SoManyWays, whose role is to support the professional transition. Its structure has never received so many requests for training from managers for meaning in the job. Inspired by the “raison d’être” of companies, the consultant Sébastien Hébert suggests that you, as an employee, ask yourself about your own “management project”. Opportunity to drop the mask so you no longer cut yourself at work.

According to the eighth wave of the Human Footprint barometer on employees’ mental health (October 2021), 58% of them say they have changed their priorities, 47% have given their lives a new direction and given in to the desire for retraining. , and 35% of teleworkers have moved. When Memo Bank turned into “full remote control”, some of its executives settled in Ardèche and Corsica. The same move to the provinces was seen at Imfusio, a management consulting firm in Paris. This power has not gone unnoticed by SNCF, which has been offering an attractive subscription since September, “My Annual Telework Package”, for those traveling between newly selected countries and their box office headquarters. A sign of the times, job offers are shrinking in Ile-de-France in favor of medium-sized cities such as Tours, Angers or Vannes, according to HelloWork statistics. The “denial” of the economy is underway. Taking back control of our lives too. Enough to be optimistic about.

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