The current epidemiological crisis has caused a stir in the discussion of the topic of organizing remote work places in both foreign and Russian companies. The article presents the results of the author's research on the organization of remote work in the "Teleperformance Russia Group" based on a survey of its employees. The key problems of adaptation of workers who have chosen a remote mode of work are considered. Recommendations are formulated for the management of organizations and companies aimed at rationalizing and optimizing the adaptation processes of remote workers. In preparing the article, the recommendations of individual scientists, researchers, given in the list of references, were used.
remote work, epidemiological challenge, social distancing, lifestyle flexibility, corporate culture, loneliness and isolation
Remote work is increasingly in the spotlight due to the coronavirus pandemic [1].
The epidemiological challenge of 2020 posed the most urgent task for the global labor market - to quickly make a large-scale transition from the traditional format of full-time employment in the workplace to the format of remote work of organizations in almost all spheres of activity, regardless of their readiness to operate remotely and the rationality of the implementation of this practice. [4.5].
Governments seeking to control the spread of the disease have adopted social distancing measures to minimize unnecessary contact between people, including when traveling to and from work. This means there are millions of people working remotely who have never done so before. In Russia, such actions solve a number of problems of the development of the domestic labor market and regional differentiation in the level of economic activity and the level of unemployment of the population [2, 3].
According to experts, worldwide, more than 50% of employees currently work remotely at least once a week. And although this indicator varies in different countries, it is a phenomenon that is constantly evolving and transforming that, some authors note how we work [6, 9,11].
Benefits, problems and organization of remote work. According to the results of the study conducted by the authors of the transition of employees of the Teleperformance Russia Group to a remote mode of work, it was found that there are many advantages for remote work for both employees and employers. Let's list the most important ones.
So, for employees:
– Flexible lifestyle. The most obvious reason people want to work remotely is because it offers them a more flexible lifestyle. When they are not required to be in the office for a certain amount of time, remote workers can focus on what matters to them outside the office. If the teleworker is also a parent, they have the option to start work the day before so they can be present when the children return home from school, or take a day off during the day to visit the doctor.
– Better health and wellness. Telecommuters are significantly less stressed and have higher morale than their office counterparts. A report published by the Royal Society of Public Health UK found that 55% of participants felt more stressed from commuting. By eliminating the need to commute to work and allowing remote workers to work in a comfortable environment, employers are caring for employees who are less stressed.
– Renewed passion for their work. Telecommuters tend to work best outside the office. They are more inspired by their surroundings and can filter out distractions as they see fit. In fact, the ability to work remotely alone opens up new perspectives for telecommuting. They see this as a motivation or reward for their excellent work, and they are encouraged to continue to exceed their goals in order to continue living the way they used to.
– Protecting the environment (using both personal and public transport when traveling to work, flying to conferences, etc.). Transport is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions. And business travel, whether traveling to work or flying to a conference, contributes to these emissions. By eliminating commuting and encouraging video conferencing, telecommuting can be an effective way to reduce a company's carbon footprint.
There are also benefits for employers:
– Increase productivity through flexibility. Telecommuters are more likely to put extra effort in their work, doing their best to get their jobs done, compared to office workers.
– Cost savings by reducing overheads saved on costs such as rent and office furniture. Remote employees are also important to a company's bottom line. If the team is fully dispersed, companies can see a reduction in overhead costs at the expense of money saved on costs such as rent and office furniture.
– Increasing employee engagement within the framework of their position. In addition to profit margins and better and more efficient performance, employers offer remote work opportunities to keep their employees happy and engaged.
– Expansion of the talent pool due to the geography of attracting talent and creating – a truly diverse workforce. Geography is not a barrier to attracting talent and creating a truly diverse workforce.
– Ensuring business continuity. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of being able to work remotely. If people can carry out their tasks from home or elsewhere, businesses can continue to function even if something happens to their premises or people cannot come to work for any reason.
However, there are a number of problems with remote work. While some employers prefer to work remotely and offer their employees the opportunity to work from home – or even work completely remotely, without a physical location – others believe that having employees in the office is the key to success [7, 8].
Many companies have benefited from the adoption of teleworking in their organizations, but this option has its drawbacks as well. Some of these problems can have extremely negative business impacts.
Based on the results of the author's research, the following problems were identified that employees and employers may face when it comes to remote work:
– the difficulty of establishing a corporate culture, as a focused culture is essential to business success;
– geographic separation reduces the level of communication, as remote workers can quickly feel unaware of what is happening in their organization;
– loneliness and isolation reduces engagement and productivity;
– the absence of a specific boundary between work and home can lead to distractions, from interrupting work by children to doing household chores during work hours;
– the lack of emphasis by companies on creating a creative culture in which employees feel empowered to share ideas and where technology allows them to do so, no matter where they work; lack of opportunities for communication.
Having considered the problems and advantages of this form of employment, it is necessary to understand how to provide yourself with a comfortable workplace outside the office. For this, as noted earlier [10], it is necessary, first of all, to find an optimal workplace; establish a schedule that would provide flexibility as to when workers perform tasks when they work remotely; it is important to establish some boundaries that ensure workers get work done within a reasonable time frame and do not cause stress by spilling over into other areas of life; take breaks (for lunch, for rest, etc.), which has a positive effect on the health of a remote worker; Pay more attention to communication using instant messaging and group chat to stay up-to-date with colleagues and projects; companies provide their remote workers with the necessary equipment to carry out their work, be it laptops, computers, tablets or smartphones; clearly articulate the main roles and responsibilities of remote workers by the employer; in conditions when the team is not in the office, their responsibilities become even more uncertain.
Below is an assessment of the organization of remote work in the "Teleperformance Russia Group" company based on the results of a sociological survey conducted by the authors of the article.
"Teleperformance" — is a flexible business services partner that companies need in this digital world. The company is engaged in customer acquisition, service, technical support, debt collection, social media and other services around the world. The main task of Teleperformance is to help brands build competent and long-term communication with consumers.
Teleperformance Russia Group operates in accordance with international standards: it is the only company in Russia that has received the international SORS quality standards certificate.
In order to determine whether Teleperformance Russia Group effectively organized remote employment, a survey was conducted among 21 employees of this company.
The results of this survey are as follows.
To the first question "Choose what best describes your work regime at home", the interviewed company employees gave the following answers:
– 11 people answered that they work according to the same schedule as in the office;
– 4 people answered that they work the same number of hours, but the distribution of the working day has changed;
– 2 persons answered that they regularly get up from their place of work;
– 4 people responded that they take breaks at set times.
To the second question “How efficiently can you concentrate while working from home? (0 = I can’t concentrate at all, 10 = I work very effectively) the interviewed employees of the company gave the following answers: as a result of the received 21 answers, the average score is 6.76 out of 10.
Thus, the following conclusions can be drawn from the first two questions asked:
– The first question helps to understand whether the working regime of the employees of the Teleperformance Russia Group has changed. The results show that the prevailing answer "I work according to the same schedule as in the office", this suggests that being busy at home did not affect the working regime and the schedule in general.
– The second question is one of the key ones, since it is rather difficult to concentrate at home, and this directly affects labor productivity. But according to the results, we see that the average score is 6.76 out of 10, and this is quite a good result. Consequently, company employees can concentrate even in a relaxing environment.
The third question "Compare your work from home and office" aims to compare two places of work of the employees of the "Teleperformance Russia Group" company. The types of work were highlighted: individual work, informal communication with colleagues and creative thinking. According to the results of the survey, it was found that it is easier for employees to do individual work at home, which cannot be said about communicating with colleagues. Company employees prefer to communicate in the office rather than through social networks. Employees have the same creative thinking, regardless of location.
The fourth question “How much do you agree with the following statements?” Helps to define in more detail the views of workers on the new conditions of employment. The respondents were asked the following questions: "To what extent does your workplace at home (chair, lighting, ergonomics) allow you to work productively?", "Do you feel connected with your team when working from home?", "Do you feel isolated from colleagues when working from at home?", "Where are you most distracted when working from home or in the office?"
Based on the results of the survey, the following conclusions were made. The equipment provided by the company suits most of the employees. It is also important to note that the team does not lose touch with each other. Most workers do not feel isolated working from home - this is a very good indicator, it means that workers will not lose their productivity due to emotional state. Also, workers noted that the number of distractions at home does not exceed office ones. This can be explained by the fact that at home, distractions can be close people and animals, and in the office, colleagues sitting next to you (in Teleperformance Russia Group, employees' desks are located very close to each other).
And the final question "What would you choose" helps us to understand where it is more convenient for people to work. The results showed that people prefer to work from home, and there are explanations for this. People don't need to spend a lot of time on the road. The time that they usually spent on the road, they can send, for example, to sleep or a morning run, which will help to cheer up before the work day. Also, a cozy and comfortable environment plays an important role. And it is also worth noting the saving of money for snacks, public transport, excess gasoline, which burns out very quickly in daily traffic jams.
Conclusion
The pandemic has accelerated the growth of teleworking in organizations. This has tangible benefits: companies can save on real estate costs, recruit and leverage talent around the world, mitigate immigration concerns and experience increased productivity, while workers can enjoy geographic location, flexible lifestyles and wellness. But don't forget about the problems that can arise as a result of remote employment. This is mainly the lack of personal interaction with colleagues.
The guidelines for organizing a remote location are pretty simple. It is necessary to provide yourself with a comfortable workplace, with sufficient lighting and the ability to work in silence, as well as comfortable furniture. Make sure to take regular breaks and schedule the tasks that need to be completed – this will help people get the job done within a reasonable time frame and will not cause stress.
Having considered the organization of remote employment in the Teleperformance Russian Group, as well as having learned the personal opinion of the employees of this company, we can conclude that, despite the sharp transition to remote employment, the company coped well with the organization of remote workplaces. The company provided all the necessary equipment for comfortable and productive work, created a platform for maintaining communication with colleagues and for holding all the necessary daily meetings. The company also prepared all the necessary documents for the transition to remote employment, such as: security documents, which contained rules for the use of confidential information, as well as agreements for the transition to remote employment in general. It is worth noting the creation of another platform that helped employers track the presence of an employee at their workplace. It is very convenient for both the employer and the employee. The employee will be more responsible in their work thanks to this platform.
Based on the results of the study and the survey of the company's employees, it can be concluded that the employees are satisfied with the work done by the company, that is, with the equipment provided, the opportunity to communicate with colleagues from home and support. Most workers prefer to work from home, and the survey found that the productivity of workers does not change as a result of teleworking. Employees generally see some advantages in remote employment: saving time and money, a comfortable environment, but there is one significant disadvantage for them - communication. They lack personal and tactile communication with colleagues and it is obvious that no platform can replace it. But you can adapt to everything, which means that in the future this will no longer be a significant problem.
Acknowledgements
This article was prepared as part of the government contract as requested by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation on the subject formulated as «Structural changes in economy and society as a result of achieving the target indicators of National projects, which provide opportunities to organize new areas of social and economic activity, including commercial, both in Russia and abroad» (project No. FSSW-2020-0010).
1. Ananishnev V.V. Remote work and business efficiency: factors, trends, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic // Moscow Economic Journal. 2020. №11. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/udalennaya-rabota-i-effektivnost-biznesa-faktory-trendy-vliyanie-pandemii-koronavirusa (appeal date: 06.05.2021).
2. Gretchenko A.A., Grishchenko P.M. Modern problems and trends in the development of the labor market in Russia // Science and Practice. V.30.№2. 2018.P.63-73
3. Gretchenko A.I., Grishchenko P.M. Analysis of the problem of regional differentiation in the level of economic activity and the level of unemployment // Economy of the firm. V 7, №2, 2018. P.37-45
4. Gretchenko A.A., Gubkina E.P. Employment of the population in a pandemic // Science and Practice. V.12, № 4 (40), 2020. P. 49-62
5. Emelyanova O. Ya., Shershen I. V., Kravets M. A., Samsonov V. S. Modeling the adaptation process of workers in conditions of free employment of a remote form of activity // RSEU. 2020. №4 (51). URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/modelirovanie-protsessa-adaptatsii-rabotnikov-v-usloviyah-svobodnoy-zanyatostii-udalennoy-formy-deyatelnosti (appeal date: 25.04.2021).
6. Konobevtsev F.D., Laas N.I., Gurova E.V., Romanova I.A. Remote work: technologies and experience of the organization // Bulletin of the SUM. 2019. №7. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/udalennaya-rabota-tehnologii-i-opyt-organizatsii (appeal date: 17.04.2021).
7. Malyshev A.A. Analysis of data on remote workplaces in Russia and in foreign countries // Vestnik SIBIT. 2019. №3 (31). URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/analiz-dannyh-po-udalennym-rabochim-mestam-v-rossii-i-v-zarubezhnyh-stranah (appeal date: 01.05.2021).
8. Prokhorova M.P., Lebedeva T.E., Sedykh D.V., Sedykh I.V. Remote employment in Russia: state and prospects // Moscow economic journal. 2020. №4. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/udalennaya-zanyatost-v-rossii-sostoyanie-i-perspektivy (appeal date: 02.05.2021).
9. A.I.Gretchenko, O.G., Demenko, A.A. Gretchenko (2018). Model of Remuneration: ‘Catching up’ Type (Russian Case) // Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics. Quarterly. ASERS Publishing. Volume IX, Issue 4(34) Summer 2018, p. 1249-1258
10. Gretchenko A.I., Gretchenko A.A. (2021) Labor Market in the Conditions of Digitalization of the Russian Economy. In: Ashmarina S.I., Mantulenko V.V. (eds) Digital Economy and the New Labor Market: Jobs, Competences and Innovative HR Technologies. IPM 2020. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 161. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60926-9_36 P.283-290
11. Anatoly Gretchenko and Alexander Gretchenko (2021). Freelance in Modern Russian Society: Job Search Through the Internet and by Means of the Internet. SHS Web of Conferences 93, 03003 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20219303003 NID 2020
