Over the course of the pandemic, thousands of employees were sent home from offices to work remotely — a transition so smooth the majority want to stay remote. But for employees on the front lines, the deal wasn’t as sweet.
Unlike their corporate counterparts, deskless workers aren’t satisfied with companies’
As the name suggests, a deskless worker is an employee who doesn’t sit behind a desk to perform their job, according to Sandra Moran, chief marketing officer at WorkForce Software. They’re usually found in industries such as healthcare, retail, construction, agriculture, manufacturing and transportation. In today’s workforce, 80% of global workers and 100% of shift workers are deskless.
“The lack of HR technology for deskless workers is a missed opportunity for businesses,” Moran says. “[It creates] challenges for employers when communicating with, planning for, and managing this large set of their workforce.”
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Eighty-two percent of employers said they offer scheduling flexibility, while only 59% of employees agreed, the survey found. Simultaneously, 87% of employers said they help hourly workers deal with personal circumstances that affect work schedules, while only 60% of employees agreed. The disconnect could lead to considerable business impact in the form of increased employee turnover and reduced productivity and engagement.
“Our current business environment demands employee empowerment defined by better training, easier time-tracking and control over scheduling and leave management,” said Mike Morini, CEO of WorkForce Software, in a release. “Companies must actively engage their employees through improved workplace experiences to more quickly and easily meet evolving workforce challenges.”
Compensation is also an issue. Seventy percent of employers reported that some hourly employees are paid different rates depending on which task they are performing at a given time, the survey found. However, only 26% of employees surveyed indicated that they receive task-based pay. The stark contrast in spending may largely be rooted in the
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“Even as the pandemic subsides there will be noticeable differences in how leaders treat each type of worker,” Moran says. “The need to recognize the differences and to create appropriate adaptations that are valued by both groups is essential to attracting new employees and to retaining all workers.”
The first step to solving the problem is to involve employees, according to Moran. Continuously monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of programs with employees is necessary to ensure investments are having the intended outcomes. The next step is to invest in technology that leverages data to make it easier to detect when there is a potential problem, capture employee feedback frequently and enable managers to take action.
Failing to implement either can have a significant
“There is a long way to go to improve experiences for these underserved workers,” Moran says. “The most important thing to do is get started.”
