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The trend of professionals working from home is picking pace, but their managers are still apprehensive as 60 per cent employees say their bosses do not encourage this culture, a survey says.
According to a new survey by JobBuzz, an employer-rating platform powered by TimesJobs.com, 44 per cent employees feel working from home boosts productivity but there still remains a stigma attached to work-for-home flexibility.
"While managers may have their doubts about work-from-home, it has become a major criterion for today's new-age professionals while deciding about joining a company and their career growth," TimesJobs.com COO Vivek Madhukar said, adding that employers have to see work from home as a tool in the employer branding arsenal.
While there have been numerous studies stating the benefits of promoting a remote workforce -- higher productivity has been voted as the top advantage by 44 per cent employees.
But employees also admit there are distractions when doing office work from home.
The survey further noted that 32 per cent of employers feel such a policy leaves less time for face-to-face interaction and synergy, which is crucial in critical roles, especially in product and technology.
Moreover, 28 per cent managers feel employees are less productive when they work from home, while 24 per cent cite difficulty in staying connected as the major drawback.
For 16 per cent managers, attitudinal issues pose a big hurdle in allowing employees to work remotely.
"A proper employee tracking mechanism is one strategy that can help employers get over their hesitation in allowing remote work policies.
“However, only 30 per cent employees in our JobBuzz survey stated their organizations have any such strategy in place," Madhukar said.
This JobBuzz.in survey was conducted across 1,123 working professionals across India.
The image is used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Reuters