MOSCOW, February 16, 2021. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey describing how Russians perceive the remote work.
Today three-quarters of the working population (75%) work primarily in their office/on the employer's premises. Every tenth respondent (11%) works remotely; another 12% have a blended working mode.
Those who mentioned on-site work/work on the premises are mainly residents of million-plus cities (74%) and people living in the cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants (83%).
Before the pandemic, most of Russians (84%) worked from an office/on the employer's premises. Only 4% had had remote work experience; 6% had combined remote work and office working.
More than half of the working Russians say it is more convenient to work at a distance (64%). One-third of Russians oppose them (29%). Remote work is favored basically by women (70% vs 60% men), residents of Moscow and St Petersburg (75%).
Every second Russian (52%) who works remotely or combines remote work with office work considers that this mode has an equal number of pros and cons. Every fourth respondent (25%) sees more benefits in remote work; every fifth finds more disadvantages (20%). Advantages of the remote work are often cited by women (30% vs 22% men).
Most of Russians (84%) who had previously combined remote work and office time or travelled to work did not change their place of residence after they switched to remote work.
TRUTH AND MYTH ABOUT REMOTE WORK
More than half of Russians agree that remote work made them work irregular hours (65%).
Myths about remote work are as follows: working remotely is harder because of distractions (64% disagree); working from home is harder because people miss the presence of their colleagues (62%).
Respondents have different opinions on the following issues: the workday has extended (56% disagree vs 43% agree); the distractions do not influence the work process at home (49% disagree vs 47% agree); working from home is effective (45% agree vs 44% disagree).
More than half of the working Russians are willing to continue working in the office/ on the premises (65%). They are mainly Russians aged 45-59 (71%). Eight percent would like to work from home; 23% would like to have a blended mode. Those who favor remote work are largely young respondents aged 18-24 (33%). Blended work environment is often preferred by those aged 18-44.
Russian nationwide VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on February 28, 2021. Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,600 Russians aged 18 and older. Stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of Russian landline and mobile phone numbers was used. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.
The COVID-19 outbreak has made certain companies switch to remote work this year. What is your current work model? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work) | |||||||
| % of those who work | Moscow and St Petersburg | Million-plus cities | 500-950 thousand inhabitants | 100-500 thousand inhabitants | Less than 100 thousand inhabitants | Rural area |
Primarily from home, remote work | 11 | 24 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
Primarily in office, on the employer's premises or off-site fieldwork | 75 | 48 | 74 | 67 | 77 | 83 | 88 |
There are days when I work from home, and there are days when I travel to the work location | 12 | 25 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
Don’t know | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
What was your work mode before the COVID-19 pandemic, a year ago? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work) | |
| % of those who work |
Primarily from home, remote work | 4 |
Primarily in office, on the employer's premises or off-site fieldwork | 84 |
There were days when I worked from home, and there were days when I traveled to the work location | 6 |
I did not work | 5 |
Don’t know | 1 |
In general, do you find it convenient to work remotely? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model) | |||
| % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model | Men | Women |
Rather convenient | 64 | 60 | 70 |
Rather inconvenient | 29 | 34 | 23 |
Don’t know | 7 | 6 | 7 |
In general, do you find it convenient to work remotely? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model) | |||||||
| % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model | Moscow and St Petersburg | Million-plus cities | 500-950 thousand inhabitants | 100-500 thousand inhabitants | Less than 100 thousand inhabitants | Rural area |
Rather convenient | 64 | 75 | 60 | 60 | 61 | 59 | 57 |
Rather inconvenient | 29 | 21 | 33 | 29 | 36 | 38 | 22 |
Don’t know | 7 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 21 |
In your opinion, are there more pros or more cons, or is there an equal number of pros and cons in remote work? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model) | |||
| % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model | Men | Women |
More pros | 25 | 22 | 30 |
More cons | 20 | 23 | 15 |
Equally pros and cons | 52 | 52 | 52 |
Don’t know | 3 | 3 | 3 |
After having switched to remote work, did you stay in the same place where you had lived before the shift or have to move to another location? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who now work primarily remotely but previously had a blended work model or primarily traveled to the workplace) | |
| % of those who now work primarily remotely but previously had a blended work model or primarily traveled to the workplace |
I stayed in the same place where I had worked before | 84 |
I moved to another place | 15 |
Don’t know | 1 |
Now I will read several statements about remote work. Please, tell me if you agree or disagree with these statements (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work remotely or have a blended work model) | |||
| Likely to agree | Likely to disagree | Don’t know |
Working remotely made me work longer | 43 | 56 | 1 |
Working remotely made me work irregular hours | 65 | 32 | 3 |
It is more difficult to me to work remotely/from home because of distractions | 34 | 64 | 2 |
When I work from home, it is easier to me to organize my work, nothing distracts me | 47 | 49 | 4 |
It is more difficult to me to work remotely/from home because I lack my team | 33 | 62 | 5 |
I work more effectively and manage to do much more in a day when I work remotely/from home | 45 | 44 | 11 |
What work model would you prefer in the future? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who work) | ||||||
| % of those who work | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Primarily from home, remote work | 8 | 33 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
Primarily in office, on the employer's premises or off-site fieldwork | 65 | 35 | 64 | 65 | 71 | 68 |
On certain days I would like to work from home, and on other days I would like to work in the office | 23 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 17 | 18 |
Don’t know | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 |