A study from Eagle Hill Consulting has found that 59 percent of government employees in remote and hybrid work arrangements said their job satisfaction would decline if their agency required their personnel to return to in-person work and 44 percent said their productivity would drop with such a mandate.
Eagle Hill Consulting said Tuesday the findings are based on a survey of 10,013 federal, state and local government employees and other workers conducted by Ipsos between April 27 and May 1.
According to the study, 45 percent of respondents said they would consider looking for another job if their agency decides to reduce hybrid and remote work flexibility.
Some of the top concerns cited by the respondents with regard to in-person work are work/life balance, commute times, stress and higher costs.
Fifty-four percent of respondents said they believe that employees who work in the office are more likely to be successful in their jobs than those who work remotely and 85 percent said they believe organizations could better manage the integration of a new member and teambuilding efforts in person.
“Government employees know that some work is best accomplished in-person, especially work that requires collaboration or is classified. But government employees don’t want in-person mandates because of concerns about work-life balance and commuting time,” said Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting.
“This means government leaders will need to focus on flexibility – perhaps allowing remote work for individualized tasks, re-imagining traditional work schedules, and having collaborative time in the workplace,” added Jezior.