Running your washing machine between two meetings, preparing lunch for your children… Many working people have adapted perfectly to this new model. At the risk of not being able to turn back? Regular teleworking is “now well established in the organization of executive work”, according to an Apec study published Tuesday March 12. We discovered that almost one in two executives (45%) would resign if access to teleworking was eliminated. The survey by the Association for the Employment of Executives reports that no “going back is possible for executives” and adds that 69% would be unhappy if teleworking was reduced (82% if it were eliminated) .
Currently, 67% of executives now say they work remotely compared to 63% in 2021. And the practice is spreading outside large companies. Two thirds of the executives surveyed telework at least one day per week, including a quarter more than two days per week, proof of the considerable growth in teleworking in this professional category in recent years and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We would have thought that over time we would witness a movement of ebb, and well not at all, it is the opposite that is happening”, maintains our colleagues from World, Gilles Gateau, Director General of Apec, Tuesday March 12. One in two executives (51%) even consider that the use of teleworking is no longer an option but an acquired fact, joining a company without access to teleworking having become prohibitive.
This practice allows seven out of ten managers to organize their tasks according to the workplace, favoring coming to site for collective tasks (61%) and opting more for working from home for individual tasks (51%). Teleworking also means more flexibility in schedules, which can be useful when juggling family life. Another advantage is that remote working allows you to move to a region that is sometimes less expensive and therefore save on the price of rent.
Comfort that has its limits
Executives, however, identify certain points of vigilance to optimize the practice of hybrid working: they point out in particular a lesser integration of new employees into the team (48%), a blurring of the boundaries between personal and professional life (40%) or even the fear of missing important communications (39%). There is also less interaction with the work collective and the unions when they are present.
These limits of teleworking are felt in particular by younger executives, more concerned by the issues of integration and professional development, according to the study. However, the desire to perpetuate the practice of teleworking has not been called into question and seven out of ten executives believe that teleworking has more advantages than disadvantages. The study is based on online surveys carried out with a sample of 1,000 executives in November 2023 and January 2024 and with 2,000 executives in December 2023.
And what about businesses? A few months ago, large groups like Orange or Vinci decided to impose a clear framework for teleworking. At the Davos forum, the CEO of L’Oréal, Nicolas Hieronimus, even stressed how “vital it was to be in the office” in his eyes, in order to be able to continue to “meet people”. Other industries, such as BlaBlaCar, intend to maintain this attractive model for future talents: “Teleworking works if we put the resources into it”, responds in the columns of L’Express, Albane Hussenet, talent acquisition manager . The new post-Covid France still has bright days ahead of it.