July 20th, 2022

Commentary From Crisis Management Expert Edward Segal, Bestselling Author of the Award- Winning Book “Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies” (Nicholas Brealey)

Business leaders who think they know what’s important to employees who continue to resist corporate policies that they return to their offices should think again.

The results of the 2022 State of the Deskless Work Report by workforce scheduling platform Skedulo provide essential insights into the preferences and priorities of deskless employees. Deskless was defined as working at least 80% of the time as a mobile employee, and desk-based was defined as working at least 80% of the time at a desk.

The survey found that:

  • Over half (51%) of deskless workers would leave their current jobs to gain access to more autonomy and flexibility.
  • Nearly half (47%) of deskless respondents would rather work for an organization that provides flexible scheduling and/or increased autonomy over one able to pay them 10% more.
  • Deskless employees with access to the technology they need are twice as likely to be very satisfied with their job; over 50% said they are more likely to stay at their job for the next five years.

The Skedulo survey was conducted between April 29 and May 5, 2022 via Survey Monkey. The research project surveyed 500 deskless and 500 desk-based full-time U.S.- based workers.

“If your employees are telling you they need more modern and innovative technologies to do their job better, you better find and implement those technologies,” Matt Fairhurst, CEO of Skedulo said via email.

“If they’re telling you they want more autonomy in their position, find a way to help them achieve that. If businesses don’t follow this advice, they run the risk of not only losing employees, but also taking a hit in revenue,” he warned.

“My advice would be to listen to your deskless workers and employees in general. It’s no longer an employer’s market, the ball is now in the employees’ court. Because deskless workers make up about 80% of the global workforce, they are the livelihood and heart of businesses, and without them, everything will come to a standstill. Ultimately, the way we all work has changed and we need to evolve with it,” Fairhurst concluded.

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Edward Segal is a crisis management expert, consultant and the bestselling author of the award-winning Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies (Nicholas Brealey). Order the book at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0827JK83Q/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Segal is a Leadership Strategy Senior Contributor for Forbes.com where he covers crisis-related news, topics and issues. Read his recent articles at https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/?sh=3c1da3e568c5.