In a few years, the teleworking quickly became a unavoidable standard on the job market. According to the Malakoff Humanis 2022 Telework and Hybrid Organizations barometer, more than 38% of employees used remote work during the year 2021. With the important development of hybrid work, new forms of work have emerged, including asynchronous work.
The asynchronous work is a mode of operation that offers greater autonomy to workers. It thus allows them to choose their working hours and to work from the place they want. Ce gain in flexibility is increasingly sought after by employees who want to organize their professional life around their personal life and no longer the other way around.
What does this new working method actually consist of? What are the benefits?
What does asynchronous work consist of?
In order to better understand what work is asynchronous, let's first take an interest in work synchronous. Synchronous work is any professional activity carried out at fixed hours having direct contact with customers or colleagues. In concrete terms, this means working “at the same time”.
The various tasks are then carried out in the workplace during imposed schedules. In the case of a store, it is a question of taking care of its customers from the opening to the closing of the store. The store staff is then not Not free to choose your hours. The same is true for a company employee who must be present in the office during his working hours in order to attend meetings and answer calls.
On the contrary, in the case of asynchronous work, the employee is Free to choose your hours of work. He then organizes his working days as he wishes according to his personal constraints. For example, he may decide to stop working in the middle of the afternoon to take care of his children and resume later, once the children are in bed.
In France, there are still few companies that offer their employees the opportunity to work at their own pace. These are generally small businesses : start-ups or SMEs.
Indeed, according to Eric Gras, a specialist in the job market at the Indeed recruitment platform, the asynchronous work It's only At its beginnings ; “it is not established, because in France we still have a strong culture of presenteeism, even at a distance, with managers who have difficulty letting go of schedules”. This working method is slightly more common In the Anglo-Saxon countries because their corporate cultures are different from ours.
Staggered hours for more productivity?
For employees, this new work organization allows them to better manage their life balance. They are now masters of The layout Of their workday. This allows them to decide to start their work day sooner or later according to their personal schedule.
Asynchronous work gives them a greater flexibility which is accompanied by a greater responsibility. Since employees are autonomous and free to work as many hours as they wish, they may then be tempted to reduce their amount of work. The company must therefore establish a relationship of trust so as not to affect overall productivity.
This greater freedom in choosing schedules allows employees toTo increase their productivity without increasing their working hours. Indeed, some employees are more productive in the morning, and others in the afternoon. With asynchronous work, it is now possible for them to work at the times when they feel most effective.
Also read the article on the “Triple Peak Day” or why work before bed?
For businesses, asynchronous work is a good way toimprove its attractiveness on the job market. Indeed, by offering employees to work when they want, the undertakings Surrender more competitive and increase their chances of recruiting skilled workers.
On the one hand, they are expanding their research scope, no longer depriving themselves of talents who would live at the other end of the world. On the other hand, by offering better pay conditions, they are more likely to please their future employees.
What are the challenges and limits of this new form of work?
As with remote work, asynchronous work can be isolation vector and reveal noxious For the sanity individuals. Physical and relational distance can limit team cohesion and the feeling of belonging to the company. The risk is then to have”Burnouts“and”Turnovers“ cascading As well as a Lower of motivation and of productivity employees.
To remedy this, it is advisable toorganize weekly points where the presence of all team members is obligatory. Another solution is to offer “team building” seminars, in order to strengthen relationships between employees.
Finally for this type of organization to work sustainably, the company must implement Of wherewithal of communication adapted to remote and asynchronous work. Indeed, since the majority of exchanges take place in the form of messages or telephone calls, it is common to encounter Misunderstandings sometimes going as far as litigation.
Asynchronous work: a new form of work
Much more than a new way of working, asynchronous work embodies the idea that work must now be organized around the personal lives of individuals and not the other way around. He announces the ending of an era marked by a Rigorous working hours.
Well-being of employees is more than ever a key success factor and success for the company. Although still underdeveloped, asynchronous work will in turn become a unavoidable standard for businesses.
However, as we saw earlier, it requires the establishment ofadapted communication tools. That's why we created M-Work.
M-Work Is a software application That allowsorganize hybrid work within businesses. Thanks to M-Work, your teams can visualize simple way and transparent the presence of their colleagues, and therefore Get organized to better meet in the office.
