Remote workers report experiencing lost promotions, burnout and desire to change jobs
Eight in 10 remote workers believe their career development has been negatively affected over the past year.
Although many employees found they enjoyed working remotely during the pandemic, their newfound freedom has come at a cost. The average remote worker lost an estimated $9,800 in delayed or denied promotions, more than half feel burned out on a weekly basis and one-third plan to change careers or seek a new job in the next six months.
“One of the most important conversations of this year is if and when companies will transition back to in-person or hybrid workplaces, but our data are a stark reminder that we need to be discussing more than just the logistics of this return,” said Cassie Whitlock, head of HR at BambooHR. “With 85% of remote workers saying they have new expectations of employers, how people are experiencing the impacts of remote work, pay discrepancies and more must be taken into consideration for companies to retain the talent they have carefully recruited up until this point.”
Related: ‘Resignation wave’ continues, despite improving economy
BambooHR, a provider of cloud-hosted software, recently studied the impact of remote work. Among the key findings:
The pandemic didn’t just halt travel and social interactions; for many employees, it halted their career and financial progress as well. Nearly eight in 10 remote workers believe their career development has been negatively affected over the past year, with the top factors being burnout (25%) and having to balance home and/or family life (25%).
Remote workers have had a difficult time finding work-life balance and are feeling exhausted, which may result in high turnover when normalcy resumes. In the past year, 11% say they’ve taken a day off specifically to get caught up on work. Fifteen percent of remote workers didn’t take any days off in the last year, and almost half (46%) took only a week or less off.
The pandemic has had varying effects on many different groups, but there are clear differences in the experience had by those of different races and generational groups. Thirty-eight percent of Black remote workers and 37% of Asians who felt burned out in the last year say it’s because of juggling extra responsibility outside their job description, compared to 33% of Hispanic/Latino and 22% of white employees. Two-thirds of Gen Z feel that they have someone senior to them at work who is a strong advocate for their career progression, compared to 59% of millennials, 49% of Gen X and 34% of Boomers.
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