Remote work is fast becoming the new normal for many these days. While Telenor is no stranger to flexible work environments, the company’s use of online tools in March (versus February) show that virtual collaboration across company’s employees is certainly spiking.
While the numbers tell us one story about virtual collaboration, we wanted to find out more about how people are really coping.
We recently ran a company survey in order to find out how people were faring in the face of new restrictions, new demands, and new ways of work brought on by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Top 10 findings from across our global employee base
1.Employees across the board report that they are able to adapt and continue to deliver outside the office. However, while motivation spikes, so do the challenges.
The internal Telenor survey (with a 54% response rate) across Telenor’s nine markets revealed that majority of respondents are feeling motivated. They responded that they perceive the current working conditions as enabling them to be even more productive. However many report that working hours have become longer and the lines between home and work are blurred. This makes family obligations more challenging.
Social isolation is also a concern for those living on their own. The survey shows that the intensity of these challenges varies based on cultural background, age and life stage.
2.In Norway, the majority of employees feel more connected to their managers and are confident in the company’s handling of the crisis. Employee engagement and enablement scores in Telenor Norway are up, with well above 80% expressing positive feedback. Many employees are also experiencing challenges related to home-schooling children and heavy workloads that did not dissipate with the onset of the crisis.
3.In Sweden, employees feel greater trust towards leaders. According to the survey, 9 out of 10 employees are satisfied with the level of information around the crisis, as well as the company’s handling of it. Telenor Sweden employees also feel more connected than ever to their leaders and teams, due in part to frequency of communication.
4.In Denmark, the vast majority express pride over how quickly they transitioned to a well-functioning home office set-up. At the same time, many employees express a sense of loss in terms of the day-to-day physical encounters with employees, as well as the social and informal collaboration.
5.In Finland, DNA employees are no strangers to the work-from-home lifestyle, as they’ve enjoyed flexible work situations for years. They report that the company’s remote work situation now is not only working well, but 8 out of 10 employees feel motivated to deliver beyond expectations.
6.In Malaysia, Digi employees say they are staying highly connected to their teams in spite of the social distance. An astonishing 99% of Digi respondents said they still feel connected to their teams. When it comes to enjoyment of the new home office life, 67% of respondents say they like it, though just under half of the respondents express challenges in completing the same level of work from home as they would have managed from the office.
7.In Thailand, many dtac employees are experiencing home office for the first time, but 90% report no barriers on productivity. Eight in ten dtac employees enjoy working from home, and 62% say they manage to deliver within working hours, proving that they are able to adapt to the new way of work. While dtac teams are focused on business-as-usual, they report that they miss the daily interaction and the quick decision-making that comes with a face-to-face working environment.
8.In Pakistan, 8 out of 10 Telenor employees are feeling productive and motivated during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. An even higher percentage of them (94%) feel more connected than before the transition to WFH to their teams and leaders. One challenge that respondents highlight is the feeling of social isolation (52%), as well as general anxiety over the impact of this pandemic on their lives (45%).
9.In Bangladesh, Grameenphone employees have reacted positively to the new work-from-home set-up, with 90% saying they are even more productive than before. They also feel connected and cared for, with 96% saying they have frequent, virtual contact to their team and leaders. However, some respondents report challenges due to increased screen time during their workday, as well as longer working hours.
10.In Myanmar, there’s no question that the information is flowing well during crisis. An incredible 100% of respondents say that they are receiving timely information on the current situation. It seems structure is key to their productivity, with 95% of Telenor Myanmar employees reporting that they have set up a daily routine for themselves to better manage their time and workload.
