New survey: Nearly a third of South Africans believe their home office is insufficient

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

About 2.2 million South Africans lost their jobs as a result of Covid-19, bringing the already high unemployment rate to 30.8%. This figure was exacerbated by many businesses having to close down due to the restrictions imposed in order to reduce rates of infections of this deadly virus.

Businesses that were lucky to survive during this period, did so by quickly adapting to new ways of working. Technology has enabled many businesses across industries to enable work-from-home solutions by using collaboration tools to keep their employees employed and continue providing a service.

This adaptability was not just a question of giving employees laptops, it also entailed ensuring data could be accessed remotely and in a secure manner, that employees had the right equipment and enough data to run these home offices and virtual meetings and so on.

South Africa has officially entered the second wave of the pandemic, with numbers rising more rapidly than the first wave, and this new world of work is one that needs to be embraced for a long time to come. Even with the possible anticipation of a vaccine cure in mid-2021, ensuring that an entire country has access to it could extend for further years to come.

To unravel the complexities of the current working environment, over 450 South African employees were asked about their experiences of hybrid and remote working since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

Covering everything from work preferences to perceptions of their personal performance, the results highlight insights that could help employers to better support to their remote workforce.

Almost half prefer this new way of working

Of those surveyed, 42% work at home full-time with the remaining number split into a hybrid model of two to three times a week, once a month or once a week below.

The majority of those, 47%, having had the experience of working remotely either full time or in the hybrid model, would prefer to do this on a full-time basis going forward.

This is followed by 31% who would prefer to work from home two to three times a week as depicted below:

• 47% - full-time
• 37% - two to three times a week
• 14% - once a week
• 7% - once a month
• 6% - rarely
• 5% - never

Striking the work-life balance is a challenge for many 

Despite a widespread acceptance of remote working, there is one issue that remains a challenge for staff – maintaining boundaries between home life and the world of work. When asked if they had managed to set healthy work/life boundaries for themselves, almost a third (22%) had failed to do so or had only minimally established boundaries:

• 9% of respondents had set no boundaries
• 20% had minimally established boundaries
• 42% moderately established boundaries
• 29% had completely established boundaries.

Similarly, 9% with their direct manager, and 8% with their team.

This struggle to set and maintain boundaries may be partly responsible for another trend revealed by the survey: Most employees are feeling pressured to work longer hours than they would if still office-based.

These excessive hours are taking their toll on health and wellbeing

Respondents confirmed a range of issues were presenting them with challenges on a regular basis. The most prominent challenges include:

• 51% of people getting work calls before and/or after work hours
• 43% of people working more hours than is standard for their job
• 38% pressure to answer work emails on weekends
• 38% having family members/housemates not respecting the time and/or workspace
• 32% use personal devices for work functions
• 29% quick turnaround that requires after-hours work
• 13% difficult keeping secure information private due to sharing of space
• 2% other

Finding ways to address these issues for employees would go a long way to addressing the issue of work-life balance.

27% of respondents believe their home office is insufficient

GetApp’s survey results suggest a significant proportion of the South African workforce is in need of additional support from their employer to better adapt to remote working practices.

We asked respondents if they considered their home office setup sufficient to ensure productivity when working remotely. The most popular response, with 69%, confirmed most have everything they require. However, almost a third, 27%,  said they need a more comprehensive home office environment to work effectively.

Respondents also shared a number of their tips for effective remote working. Many focused on the need to both establish clear work/life routines and boundaries, and communicate these to the people around you – in your personal and professional life. In addition, the importance of keeping to regular hours and taking regular breaks was highlighted by numerous people.