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New Study Reveals Boost in Employee Productivity and Well-Being Among Companies That Foster a ‘Connected Culture’ in Work from Anywhere Environment
12 Nov, 2020
Survey sheds light on role of employers in embracing a connected culture to power remote and prepare for hybrid workforces
BELMONT, CA--November 11, 2020-- RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today released the findings of its Connected Culture Report, a new study that explores how remote work impacts employee productivity and well-being. According to the report, employees working for companies that foster a “connected culture” are twice as likely to be productive when working from anywhere, than those that don’t. The study defines companies that foster a “connected culture” as those that blend effective technology that helps teams stay connected with a commitment to supporting work/life balance, and frequent opportunities for people to interact with one another. As positive news about a vaccine emerges, the survey findings reiterate the important role employers play in building a culture that encourages employee productivity and well-being -- key factors for an engaged remote and hybrid workforce working from anywhere. Conducted by CITE Research in partnership with Kaleido Insights, the study polled 4,000 knowledge workers across four countries about their levels of productivity, well-being, and connection to team members following moving to remote work with the onset of the pandemic. The overall takeaway: Embracing a connected culture leads to significant gains in employee productivity and well-being. Key findings:- Employees who feel more connected are more productive: of those employees who self-reported as more productive, 71% reported feeling more connected to their colleagues than before the pandemic, compared to 22% who reported feeling the same or less connected to their colleagues.
- Of those who reported working at companies that foster a connected culture, 34% say they're more productive working from home. By contrast, among those whose employers do not foster a connected culture, only 15% say they were more productive working from home.
- Employees at companies that promote a connected culture cite better physical (58%) and emotional well-being (55%) than employees of companies that do not promote a connected culture (50% and 48%, respectively).
- Employees referenced several company actions that helped them feel more connected. The most common actions cited by employees include: frequent employee communication (50%), enhanced collaboration tools (26%), virtual happy hours (24%), peer chats (22%), and group video games (15%).
- 58% of men, compared to 48% of women, said their mental health is good or better than before the shift to remote work.
- Group work, defined as any task performed as part of a team, was the least productive task for women, with 46% saying they struggled with it, compared to 37% of men.
- Nearly half of all employees (41%) have struggled more with group work than other types of work tasks, including customer interaction (28%), information gathering (18%), and task execution (14%).
- Those who struggled most with group work were: women, non-caretakers, those less connected to colleagues, those whose companies aren’t encouraging connections, and those who did not previously work remotely.
- Caretakers reported higher levels of well-being (57%) and productivity (35%) than non-caretakers (51% and 24%, respectively).
- 32% of caretakers felt more connected to their teams in a remote work environment than their non-caretaker counterparts.
- CITE Research working with Kaleido Insights conducted an online survey among Knowledge Workers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
- Total of 4,000 surveys were completed among Knowledge Workers (N=1000 per country).
- Research was conducted between July 15-July 23, 2020.
- Screening criteria:
- Workers on a laptop or computer always
- Collaborates with others constantly or sometimes
- Works at a company with at least 2 employees
- Ages 18+ although 35-44 was most common response group
- 53% are in a detached, single family home
