Those who work from home are more easily fired because of the lack of personal contact.
Telecommuters are 35 percent more likely to say goodbye than office or hybrid employees.
If it is necessary to reduce the number of employees in the workplace for financial reasons - due to emotional reasons - it is easier to put on the layoff list those with whom the manager and colleagues do not have such a close relationship.
According to an analysis by Live Data Technologies, those who work entirely from home are 35 percent more likely to be fired than those who work in an office or hybrid role, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The study found that 10 percent of full-time remote jobs will be eliminated in 2023, compared to 7 percent of office jobs. According to organizational development coach and HR consultant Réka Póta-Salgó, on the one hand, it is really easier for a company manager to part with a colleague with whom he has never discussed ideas in a meeting or had coffee in the kitchen, and on the other hand, nowadays it depends on the company culture and activities that the personal connection in a company how much importance they attach.
Home office with warranty
"The role of telecommuting workers is a question," continues Réka Póta-Salgó, "since there are already positions in which there is no need for personal contact with the workplace team, and it may not even be possible for the person to perform his duties from the office. If, on the other hand, someone has the opportunity to go to the office weekly or monthly in addition to the home office work, but is not willing to do so, then it is possible that he is not attached to the company, does not show commitment to the company, so it suggests that he will easily replace his job with a similar one. If team work is so unimportant in his duties that he never has to show up, he cannot be a key person, so that person may seem easier to replace on the part of the management."
The HR specialist also draws attention to the fact that
there is also a difference between home office and home office.
"If someone is always available during working hours, turns on their camera during online meetings, answers the phone when called, they can compensate by not being physically present in the office - they can still be an important workforce for the company. Therefore, it is more likely that managers part with a colleague working remotely when the employment relationship is fresh, does not rest on strong foundations, and they did not have a mutual need to tie it closer."
Motivation disappears due to the lack of personal contact
Réka Póta-Salgó also suggests that if someone is completely invisible in the life of the company, the company does not even give him the opportunity to support his motivation.
"An employee can be motivated by two things: good treatment and pay. If the first one falls out because the remote worker has no personal connection with colleagues, the HR does not organize - even online - team-building type programs, there is no stand-up meeting at least once a week, then a strong salary and a professional challenge can ensure that the workers should not leak."
According to the HR expert, together with the above
the decision on dismissal must be made primarily on the basis of measurable performance, and this cannot be influenced by the place of work.
"Recently, I was able to see an example of how an international company started to build up, operating exclusively online. In each country, a contract bounty hunter recruited the necessary workforce. However, they expanded the team at a slightly faster pace than they could have followed the expansion at a business level, and because of this, at one point they had to let go of fifty people who had not been hired even a year ago. Here, everyone worked remotely, and the dismissal was decided on the basis of the function and responsibilities performed."
Do telecommuters quit more easily?
According to Réka Póta-Salgó, this also depends on the content of the work, and on whether the employee feels his or her responsibilities are a vocation, because if not, and loyalty has not developed, the employee will leave at any time for a better salary.
"This type of worker may not even want to form a bond in relation to any of his workplaces, and this may be a current decision resulting from, for example, a life situation, which is not necessarily bad. However, if his colleagues feel this way about a colleague, it may indicate to them that they cannot count on him in the long term, and this confirms the finding raised in the research."
