It took a health crisis to break the most rusty locks. Remote work ended up taking hold thanks to the confinements. Today, it concerns nearly 40% of workers, who most often practice it part-time. Long identified as an employee aspiration, does working from home make you happier? Claudia Senik, an economist specializing in happiness, who directed Le Travail à distance (La Découverte), answers questions from Le Point.
Le Point: Where do we stand with the practice of teleworking in France?
Has remote work become a custom?
Yes, completely. Telework is a typical case of a practice that changes rapidly following a shock. There have been others in the past, notably during the First World War. Women had replaced the men in the factories since the men were at the front. This “external shock” helped to change mentalities.
The coronavirus has produced a similar effect on remote work. Many managers were once reluctant despite the fact that some employees yearned for it. However, the obligation to stay at home during the confinements has proven that it is possible to work from home. This change is irreversible. Telework has become a strong requirement of employees. A recent US study shows that three out of five people would quit their job if their employer forbade them to telecommute.
How does remote work improve employee well-being?
The first positive effect involves reducing travel. A teleworking day saves, on average, one hour of transport. In addition, it avoids many inconveniences, such as crowded subways and buses, late trains and traffic jams for motorists.
Second advantage, flexibility and autonomy. Remote workers can distribute their tasks as they wish throughout the day. They very much appreciate being able to take their children to school and go to medical appointments, while meeting their professional obligations.
Obviously, this luxury of being able to organize your time does not concern everyone. It assumes that these teleworkers work in a company that practices management by objective. This effectively excludes people who work for a call center, where the work is scrutinized by algorithms.
Does working outside cities improve well-being?
We find this aspiration in some people, yes. They believe they gain in quality of life by working from a pavilion, a country house, by the sea. Moreover, if we consider that we can work from anywhere, then we can hope to decongest cities and revive investments in peri-urban or rural areas.
What risks, on the contrary, does telework pose to this well-being?
Over the long term, working remotely can cause a loss in terms of social integration and the quality of relationships between colleagues. Interactions are always scheduled, with a defined time and in a fairly formal way: we don’t cut each other off on Zoom…
For 100% remote workers, there is also a loss in terms of career progression prospects, in terms of salary and responsibilities. From a distance, there is a lesser understanding of governance and the strategic decisions that are made.
What about the porosity between private life and professional life?
This is the perverse effect of flexibility. It is more difficult to separate professional life and family life. This porosity creates tensions. One is frequently interrupted by one area when devoting oneself to the other.
And meaning at work?
Finding meaning in one’s work is a very important factor of well-being. The meaning goes a lot through the impact that the company has on its environment. If it is, for example, eco-responsible or socially useful. And that sense creates a sense of professional identity. But this identity often goes hand in hand with going to the office. Like a play, you need a set, you need costumes, a script, dialogues…
Finally, are employees happier with or without telecommuting?
The studies I have conducted on full telework show that the effect is generally negative on mental health. On the other hand, telework has a beneficial impact on the well-being of employees when it is partial, namely one to two days a week. Look no further: the hybrid model is the one that marries the best of both worlds.