Half a Year of Remote Work and Recruitment [REPORT]

As many as 87% of Pracuj.pl respondents want to continue working in this model once the pandemic is under control. Meanwhile, 3 in 10 people performing duties from the office fear for their health. Employees and candidates remain open to remote recruitment, which is becoming increasingly popular in the face of the changing epidemiological situation. We present further findings from the latest Pracuj.pl report, "Half a Year of the New Normal."

Key information:

• 4 in 10 respondents work fully remotely or in a hybrid model.
• 87% want to continue working in this model also after the pandemic.
• Respondents more often than in April efficiently perform their duties from home.
• 3 in 10 people working in an office fear for their health.
• 9 in 10 respondents will take part in fully remote recruitment.
• 86% are open to video interviews.
• Respondents also expect the use of other forms of online recruitment.

Half a Year of the New Normal

How did half a year of the pandemic affect how employees and candidates perceive the labor market? To answer this question, the Pracuj.pl team prepared the report "Half a Year of the New Normal. Employees and Candidates on the Labor Market." It was based on research conducted by analysts from the Pracuj Group in April and September 2020. In the second text devoted to the results, experts discuss respondents' opinions on remote work. The researchers' attention was also drawn to the approach of employees and candidates to remote recruitment, which dominated HR processes in many companies.

Remote Work – Still Desired

Remote Work – Still Desired

Pracuj.pl research shows that remote work remains very popular, despite the lifting of restrictions and many workers having "tamed" the pandemic. At least part of their professional duties is performed in this model by 42% of Pracuj.pl respondents. At the same time, there is a decline compared to April, which is understandable in light of the lockdown at the time. At the beginning of the pandemic, 60.5% of respondents declared remote work.

Half a year of remote work experience and the related changes did not reduce Poles' positive attitude toward this form of employment. At least partially remotely after the pandemic ends, as many as 87% of Pracuj.pl respondents who currently perform their duties this way want to work – only 2 percentage points less than in April. Although supporters of hybrid models still dominate among respondents, the number of people wanting to work fully remotely or with only occasional visits to the company headquarters has clearly increased.

It is hard to find a labor market expert who in mid-March would have honestly predicted such high popularity of remote work after six months of the pandemic. Pracuj.pl research did show that already last year the vast majority of Poles had a positive attitude toward this model of performing duties. However, remote work as a benefit is one thing, and remote work as an element of everyday life resulting from a forced revolution is another. Our latest report shows that many fears related to this change have been dispelled, and employees have adapted well to the new situation – comments Konstancja Zyzik, Talent Acquisition & Capabilities Manager at the Pracuj Group.

Remote Work Has a Future

Remote Work Has a Future

The expert's words are confirmed by the statements of Pracuj.pl respondents. Among those surveyed in September, as many as 67% believe they are just as effective when performing duties outside the home as in the office. Meanwhile, 65% admit that they manage well to separate private and professional time – both results are slightly higher than in April. Improvement in the declared quality of work is also visible from the perspective of entire teams. Nearly 2/3 of respondents performing duties outside headquarters believe that remote work in their companies has been organized efficiently.

Respondents not only increasingly consider remote work effective, but also perceive it as an increasingly important form of performing duties. As in April, most people surveyed by Pracuj.pl believe that the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the growing importance of remote work in the market. Nearly ¾ of respondents say that in the near future duties will be performed more and more often in this model.

Report on Remote Work: A Half-Year Summary

Interestingly, the rapid increase in the popularity of remote work in recent months creates space for providing teams with additional benefits. As many as 77% of Pracuj.pl respondents believe that company funding for tools used to perform duties from home (e.g., office furniture, IT equipment) is an important advantage of an employer.

Fear Does Not Rule Offices

Fear Does Not Rule Offices

In order to obtain a more diverse picture of work in the face of the pandemic, during the September survey researchers looked at the professional situation of people working in offices. They also checked the scale of potential fears that people performing duties from company headquarters might have in the face of the new normal. As it turns out, among respondents working in offices, nearly half (49%) do not feel a greater security threat than before. However, one in three respondents expresses general concerns about their health in connection with the coronavirus (32%).

Open to Remote Recruitment

The outbreak of the pandemic caused very significant changes in the recruitment market – not only in terms of the supply of offers, but also recruitment methods. How did employees and candidates react to this? The vast majority are ready to participate in fully remote recruitment. Moreover, for a significant group of Pracuj.pl respondents, it is still an important advantage of an offer.

Over six months, the recruitment industry developed many useful solutions responding to the new situation. More ideas kept appearing: from marking offers with remote recruitment or support for industries affected by the crisis, through messaging apps and video tools supporting contact with candidates, to implementing software and cloud tools supporting recruitment efficiency. Respondents' answers show that most candidates have a positive attitude toward remote recruitment and the new forms of contact associated with it – comments Agata Dzierlińska, HR Business Partner at the Pracuj Group.

Nearly 4 in 10 respondents (38%) are more inclined to apply for offers that enable a fully remote recruitment process. This is clearly less compared to April, when nearly half of respondents expressed a similar expectation (49%). At the same time, the share of people opposed to remote recruitment remains marginal (8%).

With a Recruiter via Video… and Not Only

With a Recruiter via Video… and Not Only

Respondents speak much more clearly positively about video interviews. Two-thirds of respondents view them positively. The experience of the pandemic therefore did not change the generally good reception of video recruitment interviews among surveyed Poles. At the same time, however, a fairly clear group of people with an unequivocally negative attitude toward this format stands out – 14% of respondents do not want to take part in it.

Pracuj.pl researchers also decided to ask respondents what improvements they would gladly find in job offers they browse. The answers show that unconventional forms of contact and labeling are important to a significant group of candidates. The most popular among the proposed options was the ability to contact a recruiter via messenger. Such an option – as the fastest and most convenient – would be used by 44% of respondents. Slightly fewer respondents would like to be able to connect via video with the recruiter responsible for a given advertisement. One in three respondents, meanwhile, would expect special labels for job offers within remote work.

Summary

The Pracuj.pl report "Half a Year of the New Normal" shows that remote work will remain popular after the pandemic – 87% of respondents want it to continue. Among those working in offices, 32% fear for their health, while 49% do not feel threatened. Respondents are also open to remote recruitment – 38% are more willing to apply for offers with such a process, and 66% rate video interviews positively.

Interestingly, 44% of respondents would like to contact recruiters via messenger, which indicates a lasting change in the approach to HR processes after the pandemic experience.