A large majority of Sweden’s working-age population wants to continue working remotely, and many also feel that the hybrid work model that emerged during the pandemic has enriched both their professional and personal lives.
As we all know, there’s usually another side to the coin. In this article, we’ll discuss how the communicative relationship between managers and employees has changed without us really managing to meet the new needs.
Are you one of the many people whose workplace has changed as a result of the pandemic? Perhaps your previously office-based routine has shifted to a more flexible one, where you get to choose where you physically work. In many cases, you were likely encouraged to work from home to reduce the risk of infection. It’s quite possible that even now, in the aftermath of the pandemic, you’ve been able to retain this freedom of choice. Well, for about half of us, that seems to be the case.
According to a survey* by Great Place to Work, 9 out of 10 Swedes want to continue working remotely. Thirty-seven percent of respondents say they work entirely or partially remotely. A full 93 percent want to continue on this path, which is an increase from the 88 percent reported in the same survey about two years ago.
“This result is to be expected, as society’s view of remote work has become increasingly positive,” says Jeanette Bergvall, CEO of Great Place to Work. Eight out of ten respondents in the survey believe that companies that offer remote work are more attractive employers.
While this new way of working fosters greater engagement both at home and at work, it also presents challenges, particularly when it comes to human relationships. Thirty-three percent of employees in the survey feel that remote work has negatively impacted their sense of camaraderie with colleagues, and 23 percent report that their relationship with their immediate supervisor has deteriorated. Younger respondents in particular view this negatively, with the figures being even higher among this group.
When you work to improve the work environment for your team or company in Hartic, you’ll learn about the area of “Affirmation,” among other things. It is one of eight equally important areas for creating a positive work environment where people feel good and are able to perform at their best.
Part of feeling valued comes down to praise. Although job satisfaction in Swedish workplaces is on the rise, only 50 percent say their managers show appreciation for a job well done, and 46 percent of managers avoid playing favorites and practice what they preach. Only 48 percent believe that management sets a good example for the organization.
These figures are, of course, concerning and suggest that the new reality has not kept pace with leadership practices and the changes we’ve made to organizational structures. The solution is not to reduce hybrid work; on the contrary, the opportunity for flexibility fosters greater engagement, but we need to adopt new ways of working. We need to train managers on how to be effective leaders and how to provide good remote leadership—a point Jeanette Bergvall agrees with.
“We’ve also seen that when top management truly commits to systematically addressing workplace culture—by providing guidance and support to managers—it yields results,” she says.
Anyone who believes that the solution lies in demanding a return to the office—or at least to the way things were before the pandemic—will likely lose the battle to retain employees within the company.
60 percent of companies have required their employees to return to the office, either partially or fully, following the pandemic. This is probably equivalent to running a marathon uphill. Instead, enrich the company with hybrid work whenever possible and figure out how to make it work. And be even more careful to ensure clarity regarding work tasks and expected deliverables (goal-oriented management).
It is worth noting that by no means all occupational groups have the option of working remotely, as this group is often overlooked in a debate that primarily focuses on “office jobs.”
“We know, for example, that almost everyone appreciates a work environment where feedback is a natural part of everyday life, and that has become more difficult now that we no longer see each other in person,” says Lovisa Rosén, HR Manager at Hartic. “And it’s just as clear that companies that approach this the right way can even create an even better feedback culture than they had before the pandemic.”
Do you feel uncertain about your feedback culture and how your employees feel about it? We let all new customers try Hartic for free for 14 days, so you can immediately see how you’re performing in terms of “Affirmation” and how you should move forward to strengthen this area.
* The survey was conducted by YouGov in January 2023. 1,015 employees aged 18–64 were asked to respond to 61 questions that measured how well their employers performed in five different areas. This survey was also conducted in 2021, 2019, and 2016. View the full survey at greatplacetowork.se.
