We are pleased to announce the publication of the State of Remote Work 2023 report. The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of remote work and to understand the experiences and perceptions of employees who support remote employees. This report was not possible without the input of 100 IT practitioners. The majority of respondents were engineers, followed by managers, and directors.
In terms of functional role, the largest group was in Technology, followed by Engineering and Operations. Respondents were asked ten questions, whose answers made this report possible. Here’s what we found out …
Fully Remote, Hybrid, or In Office
When it comes to the future of remote work, the majority of companies represented in recent surveys have a hybrid work policy (74%) , allowing employees to work both in the office and remotely. A smaller percentage of companies are fully remote or in office only. Moreover, the majority of respondents indicated that their company plans to maintain their current policy. A significant portion of companies are planning to move to a hybrid work model. Only a small number are considering a move to fully remote or a return to the office.
Remote work allows employees to work from anywhere, at any time, and this flexibility has become increasingly important as the line between work and personal life has become blurred. By allowing employees to work from home or other locations, companies can provide a better work-life balance for their employees, which can increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover.
Remote Work IT Challenges
However, remote work also comes with its own set of challenges, particularly related to connectivity and technology. According to the survey results, since the start of the pandemic 57% of respondents reported an increase in support requests from remote employees, 40% of respondents reported the same level of tickets, and only 4% reported a reduction in support requests.
Nevertheless, the shift to remote work has had a significant impact on IT support teams, with an increase in support requests and challenges related to VPN issues, slow or non-functioning applications, and slow internet. To effectively support their remote employees, IT teams need to focus on addressing these issues and ensuring that employees have the necessary tools and resources to work remotely.
The findings of this survey are in line with top root-causes of WFH issues as highlighted in the 2021 post-pandemic report by EMA Research.
Technologies Enabling Remote Work
When it comes to the technologies that are enabling remote work, the majority of companies are using VPNs to connect remote employees to the enterprise network. VPNs provide a secure connection and allow employees to access network resources as if they were in the office. While VPNs are the most widely adopted technology for remote access, a small percentage of companies are also using other technologies, such as SASE, remote AP, hardware gateway, or a regular internet connection, to enable remote access for their employees.
As we pointed out in the past, monitoring VPN connections is key to ensure quick detection and troubleshooting of remote end-user issues.
Remote Work and Digital Experience Monitoring
A significant portion of respondents are either currently monitoring (39%) or planning to monitor (29%) the digital experience of their remote employees. The importance of monitoring the digital experience of remote employees is becoming increasingly recognized by companies. A significant portion of companies are either currently monitoring or planning to monitor the digital experience of their remote employees, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their IT support teams and to optimize the overall remote work experience for employees. The main benefits of monitoring the digital experience include the ability to simplify troubleshooting, reduce troubleshooting time, and reduce ticket escalations to higher support levels.
Closing Remarks
In conclusion, the majority of companies have adopted a hybrid work model, which allows employees to work both in the office and remotely. While remote work has many benefits, it also comes with its own set of challenges, particularly related to connectivity and technology. To effectively support their remote employees, companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of digital experience monitoring.
Don’t miss the full insight, download the full report from the 2023 State of Remote Work.