Research from global payroll and HR company Deel has shown a growing wave of anxiety amongst office workers regarding their own promotion chances. As more firms order workers back to the office, more than a third (36 per cent) of European workers worry that being ‘out of sight’ means that they are ‘out of mind’ when it comes to career progression or advancement opportunities, a figure which is even more pronounced in the UK (40 per cent).
According to the data, European office workers believe that being fully remote would hurt their chances at promotion (38 per cent), with UK workers feeling this most acutely (46 per cent), closely followed by those working in Germany (41 per cent).
It’s clear that in the UK, workers are planning their lives around their careers. Despite an eagerness to move further away from the office to live closer to family (30 per cent), reduce rental or mortgage payments (33 per cent) and to live closer to the countryside (36 per cent), more than half of UK workers (52 per cent) are still planning where they live based on proximity to the office.
In Europe, only 36 per cent of workers said where their office was located had no bearing on where they chose to live, dwarfed by the 52 per cent who said that living even an hour away would make them feel anxious.
According to platform data from Deel, workers’ feelings around proximity to the office closely mirror hiring strategies. Last year, domestic hiring – hiring within the same country – on Deel’s platform grew 104 per cent.
In spite of these feelings, employees are open to compromise, and many say they’re even happy to work across multiple time zones to meet their bosses’ demands. But the challenge is that business leaders are much less willing to flex.
60 per cent of European business leaders surveyed cite a clear preference for hiring talent within their own time zone, whilst 58 per cent would like them to live within a commutable distance from the office. Part of this stems from a sense of distrust, as 24 per cent of business leaders don’t feel confident that cross-border workers would be willing to adjust to local hours.
This growing disconnect between worker flexibility and employer caution is creating a new challenge. Whilst 39 per cent of business leaders admit that hiring talent closer to the office gives them greater control over their workforce, more than half (51 per cent) acknowledge that this is making it harder to find the skills needed to fill open roles this year.
Dispelling the doubts of bosses, nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of European employees would be willing to start two or more hours earlier if it meant getting to work for a business in another region, with only slightly fewer (60 per cent) saying the same about logging-off two or more hours later.
“Companies that struggle with local skill gaps can’t also be resistant to widening their hiring pools,” commented Matt Monette, UK Country Manager at Deel. “If the right people aren’t in the same city, or even country, that’s no reason to discount how valuable their skills can be from afar. Given the willingness among workers to flex their working hours, bosses need to be taking advantage by looking beyond borders to fill crucial roles.
“Most importantly though, is instilling a culture of trust and recognition,” Monette added. “Employees should not feel anxious about living far away from the office. Nor should they be worried that their hard work won’t be rewarded. The world of work is changing, and we need to empower teams to work hard, wherever they may be located, giving them the tools, mentorship and training that they need to succeed.”
