A study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that men do not work remotely as efficiently as women. At the same time a recent study by Culture Amp, a platform for people and culture, calculated that there is an average difference of 10 percentage points between women and men in how confident they feel when returning to the office. A total of 56% of women, compared to 46% of men, want their company to implement more security measures in the building.
The ONS also revealed that employees with higher salaries were more likely to be able to work better from home. These are primarily executives and managers or directors, as well as IT staff who have technology for telecommuting.
The Culture Amp study further found women are more interested in the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), with 86% of women wishing to have direct access to such equipment compared to 77% of men. According to the study, men also feel safer in the company gym, dining room or other common areas outside their workplace.
"COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women, especially in terms of childcare responsibilities, job losses and health care - and no wonder. When we look at possible predictions of future conditions, women are more likely to prepare for worse development scenarios,” said Jess Brook, chief scientist at Culture Amp.
The conclusions of the studies should thus serve as a strong reminder to business leaders of employees' real concerns after companies decide to implement the "new normal" system. These concerns are definitely not equally relevant to all employees in the same way.
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