Remote work in Polish companies from the perspective of generations

Abstract

The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted trends that have been observed on the labour market for many years, such as the popularisation of remote work, the scale, advantages and disadvantages of which are the subject of many studies. However, combining the perspectives of this work model with the preferences of generations is an innovative approach. At the same time, it is also a desirable direction of research, because there is a difference in the approach to the role of technology in professional work between the generation of current managers (often belonging to generation X) and the growing number of employees from generations Y and Z, based not only on the knowledge of tools, but also on values related to the approach to professional work. Therefore, examining the preferences of work models (remote vs. on-site) divided into individual generations, as well as a ranking based on positions, may be utilitarian for both HR departments and leaders facing the necessity to choose a target work model. According to research conducted in July and August 2021 on a group of 338 respondents who had the opportunity to work remotely during the pandemic, it can be concluded that the most expected form of work is hybrid work, which was indicated by approximately 60% of respondents, while a return to fully on-site work as a preference was declared by only around 10% of the respondents. This is a signal that the expectation of a return to pre-pandemic normality, in which the vast majority of employees only worked on-site, may be impossible, an issue that poses new challenges for human resources and management departments.