Employees in western countries report themselves to be happier in their jobs, more loyal to their employers and more productive in their work compared to their counterparts in eastern markets, according to the “Mobility, Performance and Engagement” report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.
Based on the self-assessment of 1,865 employees, those in key western markets, especially the US, Germany and the UK, consistently rated themselves higher for key performance metrics across loyalty, job satisfaction, productivity and creativity, compared to eastern markets such as Japan and Singapore. A number of key trends were identified:
- Loyalty and satisfaction lower in the East: Nearly a third (29%) of US employees consider themselves completely loyal to their employer, closely followed by Germany (27%) and in stark contrast to Japan (5%). US and German employees are also the most satisfied (15% and 10% give themselves a 10/10 score for job satisfaction) compared to just 3% in Japan and 6% in Singapore
- The west wins the productivity battle: One-fifth (20%) of the US employees give themselves 10/10, followed by 16% in Germany and 12% in UK. Eastern markets see themselves as less productive with only 5% in Japan and 9% in Singapore awarding themselves top marks.
- Mobile technology uptake higher in the west: Nearly one in five (18%) German respondents regarded their company as a ‘pioneer’ in adopting mobile technology, compared to that of Japan with 7%.
- Rising expectations from the workforce globally: From early adopters of technology (#GenMobile), 40% said they would never work for a company that did not allow them to use their own mobile devices for work, suggesting mobility is playing an increasingly vital factor for attracting talent.
Chris Kozup, Vice President of Marketing at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company commented: “Companies are only as good as their talent. Looking at these findings, there is a risk of employers missing out on huge talent pools through not addressing mobility in full. The way we work is changing to suit the needs of #GenMobile and if companies do not stay ahead of the curve they may inadvertently be creating less productive working environments that are overlooked by the best candidates.”
The pioneering mobile workplace: flexible working, hot desking and mobile apps
According to the study, the ability to work anytime, anywhere, was key to providing job satisfaction. Globally, 38% of employees rated this as the number one factor, with the UK (43%) scoring this the highest.
When it comes to securing loyalty, the ability to hot desk was seen as paramount by many employees, notably in Singapore (37%), UAE (31%) and the US (34%), while the ability to collaborate with other employees was the number one choice for employees in Germany (43%), France (37%) and Japan (35%).
In each case, mobile technology was a key driver and enabler of these characteristics. Mobile applications for work collaboration were found to be in use at 42% of companies surveyed, while 33% used video calling and 31% were using instant messenger applications.
Besides improved levels of productivity, satisfaction and loyalty, these practices were also found to result in improved work life balance. Again through self-assessment, the US regard themselves as the most balanced workforce, with 16% of employees rating their work-life balance a perfect 10/10, compared to that of Japan and the UAE coming in at 3% and 5%.
Kozup concluded: “To truly win the war for talent, today’s CIO needs to be able to offer a working environment that not only offers support for personal devices, but also incorporates collaborative tools and apps.
“It is clear that the freedom to work at a time that is most productive to the employee is crucial, which is why mobility is at the top of their check list. Businesses need to evolve their offering now in order to secure #GenMobile employees before their competitors do. By doing this, the benefits will be long term and employers from both east and west can compete on equal footing to attract and keep talent.”
To guide CIOs on how to think about mobile-first working in ways that can positively impact revenue, Aruba has developed a CIO blueprint for creating profitable mobile environments. To find out more please go to: www.arubanetworks.com/genmobile2016
