Teleworking: overworked and exhausted employees, especially at Gen Z

Teleworking overworked and exhausted employees especially at Gen Z

  • News
  • Posted on 03/29/2021


    2 min read

    Teleworking has made employees more efficient. In France, their productivity increased by 22%. But so does the workload. Among the most affected, the Gen Z with young employees likely to be isolated and to feel less integrated in their company.

    Nearly 54% of workers say they have been overworked since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is what emerges from a study conducted by Microsoft, The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready ?, among 30,000 people in 31 countries.

    And professional exhaustion is more and more felt. This is the case for 39% of them who say they are exhausted by the workload and the almost non-existent partitioning between professional and private life. Most affected ? Mainly singles, new hires (less than a year in the box), frontline workers, and Gen Z.

    Among 18-25 year olds, 60% say that since the pandemic, and the massive arrival of teleworking, “they just survive or struggle”. A feeling shared by 67% of single employees, 64% of new employees, 61% of front-line workers and 56% of mothers. On the boss’s side, 39% feel in this state.

    It must be said that the intensity of the work has not stopped increasing for a year with many meetings and unscheduled business calls (62%). This constant last-minute organization has not, however, changed the response time on other Teams conversations, as the study explains: “50% of people respond to Teams chats in five minutes or less, a response time that hasn’t changed year-over-year. This proves that the intensity of our workday, and that what employees are expected during this time, has increased significantly “.

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    Gen Z isolated and lacking in integration

    Generation Z (18-25 years old) is particularly affected by the crisis. Starting a new job during this time makes you more vulnerable to work overload and isolation.

    Respondents said they were more likely to have a hard time balancing work and private life (+8 percentage points) and to feel exhausted after a typical working day (+8 percentage points) compared to to older generations ”, Microsoft notes.

    It is also difficult for them to feel involved in the business. They seem, more than other generations, lacking in enthusiasm to go to work, they encounter difficulties in speaking during videoconference meetings or even in creating a network.

    “Without the hallway conversations, the chance encounters, and the little chats over coffee, it’s hard to feel connected even to my immediate team, let alone make meaningful connections across the company.”says Hannah McConnaughey, product marketing manager at Microsoft.

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