74% of workers want to rethink pre-COVID-19 ways of working — poll

MANILA, Philippines — Seventy-four percent of workers from small to medium businesses who were part of a global research commissioned by Kaspersky want to rethink pre-COVID-19 ways of working.

In its report titled “Securing the Future of Work” released to the media on Monday, Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity company, noted that business leaders now need to adapt fast to remain “secure and resilient” considering the remote workforce brought about the pandemic.

“We are facing a defining moment in time, and this is very exciting. It’s clear this pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and the blending of our work and homes lives,” said Alexander Moiseev, Chief Business Officer at Kaspersky.

“What we’re now seeing is employees using technology to own a new future, and actively taking the lead in embracing changes in pursuit of greater freedom and flexibility. Companies now have a mandate to adapt and remodel the modern workplace into something more productive, sustainable and malleable,” he added.

According to Kaspersky, employees are now rethinking the “next normal” for work and inspiring more agile, accommodating, and humane work cultures.

Kaspersky commissioned independent research firm Censuswide to conduct a survey of 8,076 employees of small-to-medium businesses (or those with 10 to 250 employees) in Brazil, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States in October for the study.

The research found that almost two in five workers (39 percent) want to leave behind the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. working schedule, and that this figure is even greater for those aged 25 to 34 (44 percent).

“A similar number (34 percent) are ready to see the back of fixed office desks, and around a third (32 percent) want to end the five-day working week,” Kaspersky said.

Meanwhile, over a third (38 percent) of the workforce actively seeks more technology support from their organization when working remotely.

The research further found out that the top benefits of the current work setup that employees are looking to keep is spending more time with their family (47 percent), saving money (41 percent), and being able to work from anywhere (32 percent).

“These responses show great optimism about the future, as only 7% of people see no positive effects from the new ‘normal,’” the report read.

Kaspersky suggests that companies empower employees to become more cyber-aware to keep their flexible workforces secure.

It added that companies should observe key data protection measures to safeguard corporate data and devices, including switching on password protection, encrypting work devices, and ensuring that data is backed-up.

EDV